Durham judge found not guilty on domestic violence charges. What to know.
The chief judge of the Durham District Court was found not guilty of assault on a female and a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence in Greensboro Thursday.
Judge Clayton Jones Jr. was charged in December and accused of grabbing a woman by the neck at an auto shop.
The case was moved from Durham County to Guilford County and tried by Harnett County Judge O. Henry Willis Jr. The trial began after 9:30 a.m., and Willis delivered his verdict soon after closing statements at 12:45 p.m.
Both sides declined to make opening statements, and the prosecution, led by Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Millian, began with testimony from the woman accusing Jones. The News & Observer does not generally publish the names of people who say they are victims of domestic violence. The woman has an ongoing civil case related to domestic violence against Jones in Wake County, The N&O previously reported.
The woman’s testimony
The woman testified she first got to know Jones when he reached out to ask for her help on his 2018 Durham District Court campaign (the woman said she is from North Carolina but was living in New Jersey at the time).
The woman went to campaign events and wrote an op-ed for Jones, she testified. Jones reached out again in April 2019 to set up lunch with her, the woman said. The two met for lunch in July 2019 and began a six-year, on-and-off relationship that the woman described as “stressful.”
On the morning of Nov. 29, 2025, the day of the incident, the woman testified, Jones had come back from Firestone Complete Auto Care and noted the poor condition of her car’s brakes. Jones contacted his mechanic, Jerome Chavis, and the two headed to Chavis’ shop off Holloway Street in Durham for him to examine the woman’s car.
After Chavis told the woman what parts she needed, the woman said she could get a discount at Advance Auto Parts, the woman testified. Jones drove the woman to Advance Auto Parts while she called a friend to obtain the information needed for the discount.
When the two went back to Chavis’ shop, Chavis told the woman her car also had a caliper leak, the woman testified. The woman told Chavis she had been trying to get it fixed for six weeks. At that point, the woman testified, Jones stepped in between the two and told Chavis he and the woman needed to talk.
The woman testified that Jones called her ungrateful and derided how she had “called another [expletive]” about a discount — referring to the woman ‘s friend.
The two got into an argument before Jones said he would leave without taking the woman home. The woman then reached into Jones’ car for his keys and tossed them a few feet in front of them to prevent him from leaving.
Jones then allegedly grabbed the woman by the neck, pressed with his thumb on the left side of her neck and told her “don’t you ever say anything to me” about “another [expletive],” the woman testified. The prosecution later showed photos the woman’s mother took roughly an hour after the altercation of apparent handprints on her neck and a scratch near her collarbone.
The woman testified that she tried calling 911 after Jones grabbed her, but she hung up as he was still near. 911 called her back, but the woman testified that Chavis followed her around and urged her not to call the police, so the woman didn’t answer. Chavis offered discounts and even free service to encourage her not to call the police, according to the woman.
Jones’ testimony
Jones testified that he never physically assaulted the woman or made physical contact with her during the altercation. According to Jones, he didn’t hear what the woman was talking about with her friend when she was on the phone.
According to Jones’ testimony, the incident began when the two went back to Chavis’ shop and the woman turned to him and said she had been telling him about the problem with her brakes for six weeks.
The argument escalated from there, with Jones finally telling Chavis he was leaving, even though Chavis had yet to conduct Jones’ state inspection.
Jones said he went to his car and could not find his keys until he saw the woman with them. Jones told her to give them back, and the woman threw them onto the ground. Jones testified that he ran past the woman to get the keys and told her “you’re [expletive] ungrateful.”
As he got into the car, Jones testified that he heard the woman exclaim “I can’t believe you put your hands on me.” Jones said he remarked “there you go with your BS again” and left.
Witness testimony
The prosecution called four other witnesses besides the woman, none of whom said they saw Jones put his hands on the woman. The defense only called Jones to the stand.
Chavis, the owner of the auto shop, testified that Jones has been his client for a few years. According to Chavis, he was tending to the woman’s car when the argument began. Chavis overheard “loud talking” but didn’t see what was going on. Chavis testified he saw the woman throw Jones’ keys but never saw Jones make physical contact with her.
Chavis admitted to telling the woman not to call the police and offering free service to dissuade her from doing so. He said he wanted to avoid the negative attention a police presence would create.
Rev. Dr. William Spearman testified that he was getting his car fixed at Chavis’ shop when he overheard aggressive language from a man and a woman.
Spearman said did not see the incident but saw the woman crying and a red mark around her neck. Durham Police Sgt. M. Adams, then a corporal with the Special Victims Unit, testified that he could still see an abrasion above the woman’s collarbone around 1 a.m., when the woman came in for an interview about the incident.
Willis, the judge presiding over the case, delivered his verdict immediately after closing arguments, finding Jones not guilty on either count.
Jones’ lawyers, Kellie Mannette and Bill Thomas, praised the ruling in a Thursday afternoon statement to The N&O, adding, “While the experience of being wrongfully charged has been personally difficult, (Jones)( is entirely committed to making sure that every person in our community receives due process in the courts.”
The woman who accused Jones told The N&O that she believed there was substantial evidence she was assaulted and said the Nov. 29 incident was “not an isolated matter.” (The woman’s complaint in Wake County alleges several other instances where Jones was abusive, The N&O previously reported.)
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 1:29 PM.
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