A Georgia district attorney who is already facing criminal damage charges over a campaign rap ad is now facing multiple charges for allegedly trying to influence police officers in a murder trial and offering bribes to prosecutors.
Muscogee County District Attorney Mark Jones, 40, was indicted on Tuesday on nine counts of criminal misconduct while in office.
Jones, who only took office on January 1, is accused of trying to influence police and victim testimony in a murder trial and offering multiple $1,000 bribes to prosecutors in his office for a murder conviction, court documents said.
His office serves Muscogee, Harris, Chattahoochee, Marion, Talbot, and Taylor counties.
The DA is already in legal hot water from a separate indictment where he is accused of causing criminal damage.
The charges stem from a campaign rap music ad released in May 2020 that show cars doing donuts around him in a parking lor.
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After being released from jail on bond Tuesday, Jones (pictured) adamantly denied the allegations against him and said he plans to return to work
Jones is accused of trying to influence police and victim testimony in a murder trial, and offering multiple $1,000 bribes to prosecutors in his office
Jones did not immediately respond to a text message or email seeking comment, and his cellphone voicemail was full. A woman answering the phone in the district attorney’s office said Jones wasn’t available and that the office had no comment. A defense attorney who represents Jones in another matter did not immediately respond to an email or a phone message left at his office.
The latest indictment says that Jones tried to influence a police officer’s testimony during grand jury proceedings in July over the shooting death of 18-year-old Sara Holtrop.
WTVM.com previously reported that police believed Holtrop was accidentally shot by 20-year-old Elijah Farral while she was asleep on a couch in February. Farral was charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.
Jones allegedly told the officer – Columbus Police Corporal Sherman Hayes – he should testify that suspect Elijah Farral believed that the victim had been cheating on him to provide a motive so the suspect could be charged with murder, the indictment says.
The DA is also accused of trying to bribe Sheneka Jones Terry and Kimberly Schwartz, two prosecutors in his office, for $1,000 each.
The indictment alleges that in March he offered Terry a $1,000 to get a murder conviction, while a separate charge alleges he offered Schwartz a $1,000 bribe to announce that a murder case was ready for trial when it was not.
The indictment does not specify if the alleged bribes are connected to the case against Farral.
Also in March, Jones ‘did knowingly use a threat and engage in misleading conduct’ to influence and prevent the testimony of a crime victim and did not assist the victim through the complexities of the criminal justice system and ensure that the victim was informed of his rights under the law, the indictment says.
‘It is important for the citizens of Georgia to know that our office will not hesitate to enforce the rule of law, including when it involves the actions of a public official,’ Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement announcing the charges.
The DA is already in legal hot water from a separate indictment where he is accused of damaging government property
Previous charges stem from a campaign rap music ad released in May 2020 that show cars doing donuts around him just outside the Civic Center
But after being released from jail on bond Tuesday, Jones adamantly denied the allegations against him and said he plans to return to work.
‘I did not do what they say I did,’ he told WTVM. ‘I’ve never taken a bribe, never tried to influence a witness. I’ve never tried to get someone to testify untruthfully.’
Jones is charged with two counts of violation of oath by a public officer, two counts of attempted violation of oath by a public officer, two counts of bribery, two counts of influencing witnesses and one count of attempted subornation of perjury. All nine counts are felony charges.
Each count of violation of oath by a public officer, influencing witnesses and attempted subornation of perjury carries a penalty of one to five years in prison. Attempted violation of oath by a public officer carries a penalty of one year to 2 1/2 years in prison. And bribery carries a penalty of one to 20 years in prison.
When an elected official is indicted on a felony charge, Georgia law requires the governor to wait 14 days after receiving the indictment and then appoint a review commission to consider whether suspension is appropriate. The members of the commission in this case would be two district attorneys and a retired Supreme Court justice or retired Court of Appeals judge.
They will be tasked with determining whether the indictment relates to and adversely affects Jones´ performance of his duties in a way that negatively affects the public. They are to make a written report to the governor within 14 days.
If the panel recommends suspension, the governor may immediately suspend Jones with pay pending the final disposition of his case or the end of his term of office, whichever happens first. If he’s convicted and any appeals fail, he’ll be removed from office.
Jones is already scheduled to go on trial next week on unrelated felony charges stemming from a campaign video.
He’s charged with first-degree criminal damage, interfering with government property and conspiracy in connection with a May 2020 video for his election campaign.
The video included stunt driving moves, including cars driving in doughnuts with smoking tires in the parking lot of the Columbus Civic Center, leaving behind visible tire marks.
Jones is due in court for those charges next week.
Three codefendants in that case pleaded guilty Friday and were sentenced, but Jones refused a similar plea offer.
The judge in that case rejected Jones’ claims that he was indicted for political reasons after he beat the incumbent district attorney in the Democratic primary last year.