Sentencing for three former Jackson officials moved to Nov. 5; Lumumba seeks further delay
A federal judge rescheduled sentencing for three former Jackson officials to Thursday, Nov. 5, and one defendant has filed a sealed motion that could delay his hearing further, according to SuperTalk Mississippi.
SuperTalk Mississippi reported that U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III moved the hearings from the originally scheduled date of Thursday, Oct. 15, in a change reflected in court records filed Sept. 15. The current schedule calls for Jody Owens to appear at 9 a.m., Chokwe Antar Lumumba at 10 a.m., and Aaron Banks at 1 p.m.
Lumumba’s attorneys filed a motion on Oct. 7 seeking to postpone his sentencing; the motion was filed under seal, and the court had not publicly announced a decision as of Oct. 13, SuperTalk Mississippi reported. Owens and Banks had not filed similar requests, the report said.
All three men — former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks — pleaded not guilty after being indicted in November 2024 but later reached plea agreements and pleaded guilty earlier in 2026, SuperTalk Mississippi reported. The defendants face potential penalties of up to five years in prison, fines up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release for conspiracy charges tied to a proposed downtown convention center hotel.
According to SuperTalk Mississippi, prosecutors say the scheme involved FBI informants posing as real estate developers who offered bribes to local officials; court records cited by the report describe bribes, private plane trips, nightclub outings and yacht parties connected to the investigation. The report says Lumumba admitted to accepting $50,000 disguised as campaign contributions and that prosecutors accused Owens of facilitating at least $115,000 in bribe payments. Owens resigned as district attorney effective July 1 and was permanently disbarred by the Mississippi Supreme Court after pleading guilty, the report said.
The report added that former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in August 2024; prosecutors said she accepted more than $13,000 in bribes and about $6,000 in luxury retail purchases funded by an FBI informant. Lee’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13. Businessman Sherik Marve Smith, a relative of Owens, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and is awaiting a sentencing date, SuperTalk Mississippi reported.
Source: SuperTalk Mississippi
