New Tyner assistant principal suspended after DUI arrest
A new Tyner Academy assistant principal has been suspended after he was arrested and charged with a DUI.
Chatoris
Jones was scheduled to start his new position Monday but is instead on an unpaid suspension pending the results of the legal case, said Hamilton County Schools spokesman Tim Hensley.
Hensley confirmed Jones was a new hire.
On Sunday around 11:30 p.m., Jones was arrested after a Red Bank police officer clocked him going 53 miles per hour — 13 mph above the posted speed limit, according to the arrest affidavit.
The officer pulled Jones over in the parking lot of the Taco Bell at 2300 Dayton Blvd. and questioned him.
The officer asked Jones why he was speeding and he said, “I’m sorry, I am just trying to get to Taco Bell,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the officer detected the “odor of alcoholic beverages” from the interior of the vehicle and Jones’ eyes were glassy. Jones told the officer he had drunk two Manhattans at the downtown bar, London Calling, earlier in the evening.
Jones failed several field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. Once at the Hamilton County Jail, the affidavit states, Jones blew a 0.206 and a 0.204 on two separate breathalyzer tests. The legal limit in Tennessee is 0.08.
Jones was previously dean of students at Chattanooga Preparatory School, an all-boys public charter school in Highland Park, but is no longer employed at the school, according to Brad Scott, head of the lower school.
Hensley said the school district will review the outcome of Jones’ case and proceed internally afterward.
Jones is scheduled to appear in court on July 22.
Contact Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.