You really cannot make this stuff up. A Mississippi district attorney who once called the FBI investigation into his conduct "an assassination attempt on my character" has now pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and resigned from office. The character, it turns out, had it coming.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens entered his guilty plea on June 29, 2026, to a single charge of federal conspiracy tied to a bribery scheme that also ensnared former Democratic Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Democratic Councilman Aaron Banks, as The American Tribune reported. Owens faces up to five years in prison, fines up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
Owens took to Facebook to announce his resignation effective July 1, writing, "This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. 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." Nothing says "difficult decision" quite like the federal government leaving you no other option.
According to The Daily Caller, Owens originally called the case "a horrible example of a flawed FBI investigation" during his 2024 arraignment. Apparently that flawed investigation was flawed enough to get him to plead guilty.
Here is how it went down. In the fall of 2023, two undercover FBI agents posed as hotel developers looking to build near the Jackson Convention Complex. They got introduced to Owens, who apparently saw dollar signs and started talking about the pull he had with council members. He then allegedly created a shell company called Facility Solutions Team, LLC, naming himself as the sole officer. Subtle.
Owens pocketed $115,000 in cash and funneled another $80,000 to other individuals. During a yacht trip off Fort Lauderdale (because of course there was a yacht), the FBI agents handed Lumumba five campaign checks for $10,000 disguised as donations from Mississippi residents. Lumumba allegedly called a city employee from the boat to move up a request for qualifications deadline. Multitasking at its finest.
Owens collected another $50,000 in cash on that same yacht trip and told the agents he would stash funds for others in a safe at the Hinds County District Attorney's Office. When the feds searched the office in May 2024, they found bribe money hidden inside a hollowed out fake U.S. Constitution. Let that sink in. The man sworn to uphold the law literally gutted the Constitution to hide cash inside it. If a screenwriter pitched that detail, the studio would send it back for being too on the nose.
Some of the serial numbers on the recovered bills matched money the operatives had paid Owens. That is what we in the business call "not great evidence for the defense."
Lumumba and Banks have pleaded not guilty and face trial in mid-July. Lumumba tried to run for reelection as mayor in 2025 and lost. Banks chose not to run again. Owens is out on bond and scheduled for sentencing on October 15, 2026.
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