Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy in federal court and submitted his resignation, saying in a social media post that the resignation will be effective July 1, 2026.
Federal prosecutors said Owens faces up to five years in prison, as much as $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release. Owens remains out on bond and is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 15, according to court records.
Owens was indicted in October 2024 alongside then-Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and then-City Councilman Aaron Banks, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors alleged Owens helped facilitate more than $80,000 in bribe payments to Jackson elected officials while accepting at least $115,000 in cash from undercover FBI assets posing as real estate developers who sought support for a proposed hotel.
According to the indictment and other court filings, prosecutors say undercover operatives used private plane travel, cash payments, campaign checks and other benefits to secure action from city officials. The filings allege payments included five $10,000 campaign checks delivered during a yacht trip and that Owens received $50,000 in cash during the trip. Prosecutors also allege an earlier distribution of $60,000 in cash that included $25,000 for Owens, $25,000 for Banks and $10,000 for former councilwoman Angelique Lee.
Former councilwoman Angelique Lee pleaded guilty in August 2024, and Sherik “Marve” Smith pleaded guilty in October 2024, court records show. Federal agents searched Owens’ district attorney’s office and a business in May 2024 and found cash hidden inside a hollowed-out book, prosecutors said. Owens previously pleaded not guilty and called the investigation “a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation,” characterizing recorded statements as “drunken, locker-room banter,” remarks made after his 2024 arraignment, according to court transcripts. The cases against Lumumba and Banks remain pending.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
