FILE - Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens is seen March 6, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
- Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens changed his plea in June and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and resigned from office.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, who previously pled not guilty in the sprawling Jackson bribery case that implicated city and county officials, was sentenced Thursday to 41 months in federal prison and will be required to pay a $100,000 fine.
U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III announced the sentencing.
Owens changed his plea in June and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and resigned from office.
As previously reported, 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.
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.
Lumumba and Banks are have also now pleaded guilty.
Former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee was also linked to the scandal. She 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.
Owens will now report to prison on January 4.
Banks is scheduled to sentenced later Thursday with Lumumba’s sentenced pushed back to November 20.
