West Virginia Mayor ‘Relieved’ After Son’s Drug Arrest - East Idaho News
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West Virginia Mayor ‘Relieved’ After Son’s Drug Arrest

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GETTY W 102511 ArrestHandcuffed?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1362746647279Photodisc/Digital Vision/Thinkstock(CHARLESTON, W. Va.) — A mayor in West Virginia says the arrest of his son on drug charges might be the only way to save him and he’s “relieved” to hear about his incarceration because his son has a better chance of staying alive while in jail.

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones released the statement on Thursday, hours after his 23-year-old son, Zachary, was arrested on a charge of possession with intent to deliver an ounce of cocaine.

“If in jail or prison, I know that Zac has a better chance at living than on the outside.  This is because Zac is a hopeless drug addict who has broken the heart and the will of everyone and anyone who has tried to help him,” Jones said in a statement obtained by ABC News affiliate WCHS-TV.

Zachary Jones was arrested along with Moldavian Harris, a 24-year-old from Detroit, and is being held at the South Central Regional Jail on $25,000 bail, WCHS reported.

“This arrest comes on top of a DUI arrest in 2008 and a heroin possession arrest in 2010,” Danny Jones said.

Danny Jones, in his statement, said he has never lobbied for favorable treatment during his son’s past troubles and even told police of Zachary’s whereabouts prior to his 2010 arrest.

“I know there are a few parents that will read this and relate to the heartbreak I feel,” the Republican mayor said.  “I plead with those in the law enforcement, judicial, jail and prison system to treat my son no better or worse than any other defendant.  My son does not need anyone to save him from taking this life saving fall.”

Zachary Jones was pulled over for speeding when a Metro Drug Unit officer found 25.7 grams of cocaine in the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court, WCHS reported.

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