The top prosecutor for the city of Roanoke has been appointed to investigate the handling of Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones’ 2022 speeding ticket.
A judge in New Kent County on Thursday named Roanoke Commonwealth’s Attorney Don Caldwell as special prosecutor to the case.
That came after Williamsburg-James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green — initially named as special prosecutor early last week — recused himself.
Green filed a motion Thursday saying that after a review of the circumstances of the case, “it would be improper” for him to take the case. He declined to elaborate.
New Kent Circuit Judge B. Elliott Bondurant’s order said he picked the Roanoke prosecutor in part because he was “outside of the 9th Judicial Circuit,” a wide-ranging geographical area that includes Williamsburg and New Kent.
Jones, facing a tight battle with Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares, was pulled over about 1 a.m. Jan. 21, 2022, for speeding on Interstate 64. He was clocked driving his 2014 Acura 116 mph in a 70 zone.
Later that year, New Kent General District Judge Stephanie Revere found the evidence sufficient to convict Jones guilty of reckless driving, but deferred the final disposition.
At the January 2024 sentencing, Jones avoided jail time or a license suspension, though it’s not unusual for those convicted of driving over 100 mph to get a short jail term. Instead, Revere ordered Jones to pay $1,600 in fines and costs.
During that hearing, Jones presented letters to the judge saying he had served more than 1,000 hours of community service in 2023.
One was from the NAACP’s Virginia conference, which said Jones performed “over 500 hours of charitable service” that year. “Mr. Jones provided support in a variety of ways that benefited our organization tremendously,” President Rev. Cozy Bailey wrote.
Meet our Moment, a Norfolk political action committee Jones founded, told the judge that Jones gave “over 500” hours. The nonprofit “is grateful to the time that Mr. Jones gave to the organization in furtherance of our mission to train civic leaders,” Executive Director Lesley Stewart wrote.
Those hours amount to 19 hours a week — or 25 traditional 40-hour work weeks — over the course of a year.
It’s been widely reported that Judge Revere had “ordered” Jones to serve 1,000 hours of community service in handing down the sentence. But the sentencing documents do not include any such order.
Jones’ attorney in the speeding case, Andrew Protogyrou, declined to comment on how the public service component came about — including whether it was part of an agreed disposition between Jones and prosecutors.
Protogyrou said he could not delve into those details given that Caldwell is likely to interview him as part of the investigation.
But “this is much ado about nothing,” he said.
Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/10/25/roanoke-prosecutor-jones-speeding/
