FILE - Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens is seen March 6, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
- Owens was indicted in October 2024 alongside then-Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and then-City Councilman Aaron Banks.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, who previously pled not guilty in the sprawling Jackson bribery case that implicated city and county officials, will change his plea today in federal court.
Owens was indicted in October 2024 alongside then-Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and then-City Councilman Aaron Banks. Federal prosecutors alleged Owens helped facilitate more than $80,000 in bribe payments to Jackson elected officials while accepting at least $115,000 in cash for his own role in the scheme.
The case centered on two FBI confidential assets posing as real estate developers. The pair sought support for a proposed hotel near the Jackson Convention Complex. Prosecutors alleged the purported developers used private plane travel, cash payments, campaign checks and other benefits, which included a trip to a famous Miami area strip club, to secure official action from Jackson officials.
According to prior court filings, the undercover operation began in fall 2023, when the purported developers were introduced to Owens. Owens and his relative and business associate, Sherik “Marve” Smith, later traveled by private jet to Nashville to discuss business opportunities in Jackson.
The proposed hotel project was submitted in March 2024 by Contour Companies and Facilities Solution Team. The proposal identified out-of-state developers and listed Owens and Smith as associated local businessmen. Nine days later, Owens formed Facility Solutions Team, LLC, with state filings listing him as the registered agent and only officer of the company.
Prosecutors alleged Owens used his position and relationships in Jackson to help the undercover operatives reach city officials. The indictment accused Owens of discussing his influence over council members, arranging payments, and helping move the project through city processes.
Former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee was the first public official charged in the investigation. She pleaded guilty in August 2024 after admitting she accepted bribes from undercover FBI operatives posing as developers in exchange for her support of the hotel project. Lee resigned from the City Council the day of her plea.
Smith pleaded guilty in October 2024, admitting his role in funneling bribery payments to Jackson elected officials. The criminal information filed in Smith’s case helped reveal the broader scope of the federal investigation.
The indictment against Owens, Lumumba and Banks later alleged that payments to Lumumba included five $10,000 campaign contribution checks delivered during a yacht trip off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Prosecutors said the checks were made to appear as though they came from Mississippi donors.
According to the indictment, Lumumba accepted the checks in exchange for agreeing to move up the deadline for a request for qualifications connected to the hotel project. Prosecutors alleged Lumumba called a city employee while on the yacht and directed that the RFQ deadline be changed.
The indictment also alleged Owens received $50,000 in cash during the Florida trip for his role in facilitating the payment to Lumumba.
Federal prosecutors further alleged Owens facilitated payments to Banks and Lee. In February 2024, according to court filings, the undercover operatives gave Owens $60,000 in cash, including $25,000 for Owens, $25,000 for Banks and $10,000 for Lee. Prosecutors said Owens told the operatives he would store Banks’ and Lee’s money in a safe at the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office.
That same day, according to the indictment, Owens gave Banks an envelope containing $10,000 in cash. Prosecutors also alleged Banks accepted protective services and employment for a family member in connection with the scheme.
Federal agents searched Owens’ Hinds County District Attorney’s Office and one of his businesses in May 2024. During the search, agents found cash hidden inside a hollowed-out book made to look like the United States Constitution, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said some of the cash matched serial numbers from money previously paid to Owens by the undercover operatives.
Owens had previously pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. After his 2024 arraignment, he called the case “a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation” and described it as “an assassination attempt on my character.” He also characterized recorded statements attributed to him as “drunken, locker-room banter.”
In pretrial filings, defense attorneys for Owens, Lumumba and Banks repeatedly sought to have the case dismissed or separated, raising arguments that included entrapment, government misconduct, venue concerns and requests for separate trials.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III had set a July 13 trial date and ordered any defendant wishing to change a plea to do so by late May.
The cases against Lumumba and Banks remain pending.
