A year after Jay Jones’ first run for attorney general, a Virginia state trooper clocked him speeding on Interstate 64 at 116 miles per hour — 46 over the speed limit — resulting in a reckless driving conviction in New Kent County.
Court records show that Jones, now Virginia’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, was pulled over by the state trooper at 12:55 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2022, three weeks after he had quit his job as a state delegate representing Norfolk.
Jones said in a statement on Tuesday: “Several years ago, I made the mistake of speeding, for which I am regretful. I accepted responsibility for my actions, paid the fine, and fulfilled my responsibility to the court, which was accepted by the New Kent County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the judge.”
Jones faces Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares in the Nov. 4 election. Miyares’ campaign spokesman Alex Cofield said in a statement: “From his professional record to his personal choices, Jay Jones’ reckless disregard for the justice system makes him unfit to be Attorney General.”
Under Virginia law, a reckless driving conviction can result in up to one year in jail. Jones’ attorney sought to defer the case four times before the General District Court system reports the case changed to “deferred disposition,” meaning there was an agreement to avoid potential jail time in exchange for doing community service.
Jones paid a $1,500 fine.
Documents from Jones’ attorney show that Jones completed 1,000 hours of community service in 2023 — 500 of which were for Jones’ own political action committee, called Meet Our Moment. The PAC is registered with the Virginia Board of Elections and is not a nonprofit charitable organization.
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The Democrat contrasts with her Republican rival, John Reid, in temperament, as well as in positions on issues.
The declaration that Jones completed community service for the PAC was signed by Lesley Shinbaum Stewart, Jones’ longtime adviser.
“MOM is grateful to the time that Mr. Jones gave to the organization in furtherance of our mission to train civic leaders,” Stewart wrote in a court document.
Jones performed the other 500 hours of community service for the NAACP Virginia State Conference, according to court records. In 2023, Jones helped sue Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration on behalf of the Virginia NAACP for access to the voting rights restoration database — a fact that Jones has prominently touted during his campaign for attorney general this year. It is unclear if the lawsuit was part of the 500 hours that Jones completed as part of his community service hours.
The Jones campaign did not answer questions from the Richmond Times-Dispatch about his community service for his PAC or for the state NAACP conference.
Jones first ran for attorney general in 2021, losing in a June Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring, who lost to Miyares that November.
