Braidwood mayor delinquent on restitution in DUI crash case, prosecutors say

Prosecutors are looking to revoke the conditional discharge of the Braidwood mayor in a drunken crash case because he has not yet paid restitution to two victims, records show.

Braidwood Mayor Robert Jones was sentenced to two years of conditional discharge, which is similar to probation, after he pleaded guilty to driving under in the influence in connection with a 2019 three-vehicle crash. Jones previously pleaded guilty to DUI in 2008.

Jones was ordered to pay about $4,499 to two victims who were impacted by the crash.

On Feb. 4, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his conditional discharge because he failed to pay that restitution, court records show. Jones was ordered to pay a total of about $6,962 in the case and has paid $1,600 since his Sept. 4, 2020 sentencing.

Prosecutors said Jones has also not completed roughly 146 of his 240 hours of community service.

Jones’ case was scheduled for an Aug. 5 hearing on the prosecutors’ petition, about a month before he’s expected to complete his conditional discharge sentence.

Jones and his attorney, Eugene Fimbianti, did not immediately respond to calls Tuesday about the petition.

One of the two victims in the case, Haileigh Walstra, is suing Jones over the crash, which occurred on Route 53, just north of Coal City. Walstra’s lawsuit accused Jones of of rear-ending her vehicle and failing to properly drive his vehicle in the crash.

“Walstra suffered injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature, but not limited to, severe pain and suffering, loss of normal life and medical expenses,” according to her lawsuit.

In 2020, Judge Ken Zelazo sentenced Jones to eight days in jail and allowed him to receive day-for-day credit, which meant his time in jail would only be four days. Zelazo also allowed Jones to not serve that time right away in light of COVID-19 concerns raised by Fimbianti.

Judge Art Smigielski had also allowed Jones to delay serving his jail sentence because of the pandemic. On Jan. 8, 2021, Smigielski ruled that “until I can eat in a restaurant, he doesn’t have to go to jail.”

Jones eventually served his time starting about 10:10 a.m. on April 19. He was released about 7:40 a.m. April 22, according to jail records.

Illinois State Police reports showed Jones was driving with a 30-year-old woman and her 9-year-old daughter at the time of the incident.