FLINT, MI - City Councilman Eric Mays' disorderly conduct case came to a quiet end when he and prosecutors announced they reached an agreement that would have the embattled city leader pay a $200 fine.
The agreement was announced Thursday, March 17, as the two sides met for Mays' scheduled sentencing hearing following his disorderly conduct conviction. Jurors found Mays guilty Feb. 1, following two days of testimony in the misdemeanor trial.
"In light of the water crisis, we wanted to reach an agreement (with Mays) to let him continue to interact with his ward," said Flint Chief Legal Officer Anthony Chubb.
Mays, who represented himself throughout the trial, had filed a motion seeking a mistrial, claiming his case wasn't heard by a jury of his peers.
Visiting Judge Richard Ball, who was hearing the case after local judges recused themselves, was set to hear arguments on the motion. However, after a brief meeting with Mays and assistant city attorney David Roth, he denied the motion and moved on with the sentencing.
Ball said he had a lecture ready for Mays, but decided to forgo it once he learned an agreement had been reached.
Mays later thanked Ball for not giving him the lecture.
Mays's legal assistant, attorney Vinson Carter, said Mays didn't agree with the outcome of the case but he would comply with agreement.
Mays said the election of Mayor Karen Weaver and her staffing changes in the police chief and city attorney manager positions helped him reach the decision to accept the agreement.
The First Ward councilman was charged with disorderly person after he was removed from a July 8, 2015, finance committee meeting by police. He couldn't be reached for comment on the verdict.
Former Flint Police Chief James Tolbert, City Councilwoman Monica Galloway and former Council President Josh Freeman all testified against Mays in the case.
Galloway testified the three member committee, of which Mays was not a member of, was discussing grass cutting in the city when she allowed Mays to discuss the issue.
However, Galloway claimed Mays continued to go off topic, including mentioning the city's prosecution of him for an alleged November 2013 drunken, wrong-way crash on Interstate 475.
The councilwoman said Mays became increasingly loud and agitated despite her attempts to bring him to order. She claimed she eventually read Mays the disorderly person ordinance and told him he could be arrested if he didn't come to order.
Ultimately, Galloway said she had to ask police to remove Mays because he continued to interrupt the meeting.
"She gave him more time than I would," Freeman testified. "She was beyond reasonable with her time."
Tolbert testified that Mays was initially led from the meeting but not arrested. Officials eventually sought an arrest for him after reviewing video of the meeting.
Former City Attorney Peter Bade said previously the decision to seek charges against Mays came after officials reviewed video from that July meeting, which was posted in news reports on MLive.com.
Ball sentenced Mays to jail Jan. 5 for 30 days after prosecutors claimed Mays crashed his vehicle near Leith Street and Industrial Avenue in Flint before driving it almost three miles on the night of his arrest, ending up facing the wrong way on I-475, just north of the city limits.
Mays is appealing that conviction.
He face up to 90 more days in jail for the disorderly conduct conviction.