A Mississippi county district attorney pleaded guilty on June 29, 2026, to a single charge of federal conspiracy and resigned from his post in a case concerning bribery that pulled several top Jackson elected officials into the mess. Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens could spend up to five years in prison and pay out fines up to $250,000, along with three years of supervised release for the crime.
Along with Owens, former Democratic Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Democratic Councilman Aaron Banks were also indicted in connection with the scheme, which was allegedly discovered in 2023 by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Owens was indicted by a grand jury in October 2024. Owens took to Facebook where he revealed his departure from the position takes effect July 1.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made,” he said in the post. “While it hurts beyond measure to step away from the position I love, I believe this decision is what is best for me, my family, and the District Attorney’s Office.” Owens’ guilty plea is a reversal of his former defiant posture. During his arraignment in 2024, the now former district attorney claimed he committed no wron doing.
According to a report from The Daily Caller, Owens originally referred to the case as “a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and “an assassination attempt on my character.” Prosecutors built the case against the district attorney through a sting operation that began in the fall of 2023. Two undercover FBI agents posed as developers trying to establish a hotel near the Jackson Convention Complex.
During the operation, the two agents were introduced to Owens, according to court records obtained by local media outlet The Magnolia Tribune. Contour Companies and Facilities Solution Team sent their hotel plan in March 2024, allegedly naming Owens and a relative and business partner named Sherik “Marve” Smith as their associates.
Prosecutors say that just nine days after that, Owens created Facility Solutions Team, LLC, naming himself the company’s registered agent and sole officer. In order to move the deal along, he relied on his standing within the city government, talking about the pull he had with council members, facilitating payments, and help he could offer getting the proposal pushed through various municipal channels.
Owens then took $115,000 in cash for his own part in the plan and then siphoned $80,000 to other individuals, according to information gleaned from the federal indictment. The indictment for Owens, Banks, and Lumumba says that during a yacht trip off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the FBI agents gave Lumumba five campaign checks for $10,000 that were disguised as donations from residents in Mississippi.
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The former mayor then allegedly phoned a city employee from the boat to move up a request for qualifications deadline. Owens also collected $50,000 in cash during that same trip for brokering the payments and oversaw payments made to both Lee and Banks. The agents gave Owens $60,000 in cash in February 2024, which included $25,000 for him, $10,000 for Lee, and $25,000 for Banks.
Owens then told the agents he would secure the funds for Lee and Banks in a safe located at the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office. A federal search of the district attorney’s office was conducted in May 2024. Officials discovered the money hidden inside a fake U.S. Constitution that was hollowed out to conceal the cash. Prosecutors stated that some of the serial numbers on the bills matched money the operatives paid the former district attorney.
Lumumba and Banks have opted not to follow in Owens’ footsteps, entering not guilty pleas. Their trial is set to take place in mid-July. Lumumba attempted to run for reelection as mayor in 2025, but the effort failed. Banks decided against filing for reelection in the 2025 municipal race. Owens is currently out on bond and is scheduled to receive his sentence on October 15, 2026.
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