Durham County chief district judge arrested, accused of domestic violence
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- Durham chief district court judge Clayton Jones arrested on two misdemeanor counts.
- Warrant alleges Jones grabbed and struck a female victim, prompting charges.
- Jones says the allegations are “entirely false.”
Read the latest: Durham judge charged with domestic violence had protective order against him
The chief judge of Durham County’s District Court was accused Monday of two misdemeanor crimes against a woman he had recently dated, court records state.
Clayton Jones was arrested Monday on one count of assault on a female and one count of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
He is accused of grabbing the woman’s neck with his hand, according to the arrest warrant. The judge denies the allegation.
Jones was being held Monday at the Orange County Detention Center on $500 bail and was ordered to have no contact with the woman, court records show, The records do not explain why he was in custody in Orange County. He is due in court on Jan. 15, 2026.
In a statement released through his lawyers, Jones called the allegations, which followed an event at a local business, “entirely false.”
A witness “present in a professional capacity and not a family member or personal friend to either party” told police that Jones did not assault anyone, according to the statement.
“In fact, during the exhaustive police investigation not a single eyewitness was found at the business who supported the false claim of assault,” the statement read. “Being a judge comes with the public eye and additional scrutiny. Judge Jones deeply respects the court process and expects to be quickly vindicated in this matter.”
Jones was elected as Durham County District Court judge in 2018. He graduated from the N.C. Central School of Law in 2003 and began his career as an assistant public defender in Durham.
He became an assistant district attorney for Durham County in 2016 before his election as judge two years later. Jones is running for reelection in 2026.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
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