Editor's note: The trespassing charge against U'Gundi Jacobs was dropped on Jan. 14, 2019. In a statement, Jacobs said: "Allegations should be investigated before arresting individuals because it leads to damaged relationships, perceptions and other adverse outcomes... Justice says you're innocent until proven guilty. However, society views you as guilty and you must fight to prove your innocence."

Candidate for state representative U'Gundi Jacobs was arrested and charged with trespassing Tuesday after police said he broke into the home of his child's mother on Labor Day, according to court records.

Jacobs, who is challenging Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden in the Democratic primary on Thursday, pleaded not guilty, court documents show. He was released on $1,000 unsecured bail.

In a statement on his Facebook page, he denied the allegations in the court records and said he is the victim of a "smear campaign."

"This is a blatant attempt to derail me from a hard fought and upstanding grass root campaign that has mobilized voters to vote for me against the establishment," he wrote.

The alleged incident started just before 5 a.m. Monday, an affidavit of probable cause states. Police responded to a burglary complaint in Wilmington and encountered a woman who was "alarmed" after Jacobs woke her up by entering her house through a second-floor rear window, the affidavit states.

She told police she could "smell the odor of alcohol" on Jacobs and that his speech was slurred, the affidavit said.

Jacobs, 47, accused the mother of his child of "having a male in the residence" and began to search for that person while stating he wanted to see his child, the affidavit states.

The woman repeatedly told Jacobs to leave, but he refused, even after she told him she would call the police, the affidavit states. He eventually left. Police responded afterward and obtained an arrest warrant. Jacobs was charged with first-degree criminal trespassing.

A message left on Jacobs' phone was not returned. On Facebook, he said he did not do what he was accused of doing.

"How can the system continue to allow ppl to falsely accuse you, charge you, publicize it, and turn around and say 'you're innocent until proven guilty' — you're not!" the post said.

When contacted Tuesday, Bolden declined to comment about her opponent.

"That seems to be personal," she said.

Jacobs has been the executive director the Wilmington's William "Hicks" Anderson Center since 2016 when he was hired by then-Mayor Dennis P. Williams.

His prior run-ins with police raised questions at the time.

In 1990, he was sentenced to a year of probation for misdemeanor criminal trespassing.

Jacobs pleaded guilty in 1997 to felony drug distribution charges related to a 1995 arrest. Through a plea deal, he admitted to distributing drugs within 300 feet of a park, and other charges against him were waived. He was sentenced to three years' probation.

That same year, Jacobs received six months' probation for misdemeanor menacing.

Then-Gov. Ruth Ann Minner pardoned Jacobs in 2003.

In 2006, Jacobs pleaded guilty in family court to a misdemeanor charge of offensive touching. Jacobs said he grabbed his son's jacket in an act of discipline, and the boy's mother called police.

In 2011, Jacobs was charged with misdemeanor harassment. He entered a plea deal and was sentenced to six months of probation.

The Wilmington native is the former dean of students at Maurice J. Moyer Academic Institute, a city charter school that has since closed. His run for the state legislatures follows an unsuccessful bid for a city council seat in 2012.

Jacobs acknowledged his past in his Facebook post.

"Yes, I've been in trouble before, I received my penalty, recovered from it and even received a Governor's Pardon in 2003, but I'm still being held hostage — it's wrong, dead wrong!" he said.

"It's in God's hand, I will continue to grind, continue to enlighten, and continue to inspire those who won't be fooled by the nonsense."

If you have a story to tell, contact reporter Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837 or cjedra@delawareonline.com.

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