Mark Preston Jones
A recently elected Georgia district attorney continued to make headlines on his charges, albeit not in the typical prosecutorial fashion.
Contested District Attorney for the Chattahoochee Judicial District Mark Preston Jones (D) was arrested Tuesday after being charged by a Muscogee County grand jury on nine counts of misconduct in office, including charges of attempted bribery and incitement to perjury. It’s the third time Jones, who took office in January 2021, has been charged in criminal proceedings since 2019.
According to the indictment filed in Muscogee County’s Superior Court on Tuesday, Jones attempted to persuade a police officer to lie to a grand jury in July for a murder charge. Prosecutors allege Jones told the officer to testify about a wrong motive in order to bring charges Elijah Farralwho was charged with negligent homicide in the shooting of his girlfriend Sara Holtrop. Jones wanted the bureau to claim Farral believed Holtrop was cheating on him to raise the charges of premeditated murder, authorities say.
Jones is also charged with attempting to bribe an assistant prosecutor under his supervision. According to the indictment, Jones allegedly offered a prosecutor $ 1,000 in March if they could obtain a murder conviction in a specific case. Similarly, he is accused of offering another US attorney $ 1,000 in exchange for “standing up for a murder trial in the Supreme Court on a case that was not yet ready for trial.”
In addition, the state alleges that Jones “knowingly used a threat and engaged in misleading behavior” to prevent that from happening Chris Baileywho is described as a victim of a crime, from submitting a testimony to the court about the victim’s effects.
Two brothers allegedly killed Bailey’s uncles in North Columbus after an argument over children playing basketball on the street, according to a report by the Columbus Ledger Enquirer. Bailey had filed a motion alleging his family was not notified when one of the suspects was released on bail, but allegedly withdrew the motion after speaking with Jones about the testimony.
Jones is charged with double influencing a witness, double bribery, double breach of oath by a public official, double attempted breach of oath by a public official, and a charge of attempted perjury for self-birth.
“It is important for the citizens of Georgia to know that our office will not hesitate to enforce the rule of law, even if it is the actions of a public official,” said Georgia’s attorney general Chris Carr (R) said in a statement on Wednesday. “We appreciate the critical role and service of the Muscogee County Grand Jury and thank the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their hard work on this investigation. We look forward to presenting our case in court. “
A state judge earlier this month refused to dismiss charges against Jones of first degree damage to property, interference with government property and conspiracy for his alleged role in a campaign video shot in May 2020. The video, which Jones does not have a permit for, including several cars performing “donuts” in the parking lot of the Columbus Civic Center around the candidate at the time, allegedly causing $ 306,000 in property damage. His trial is scheduled to begin next week.
Jones was charged with drinking under the influence in 2019 after allegedly crashing into a woman’s car at a red light. Police said an alcohol test showed his blood alcohol level was 0.088, which was above the state minimum of 0.08.
Jones, a Democrat, defeated incumbent DA Julia Slater, also a Democrat, last summer and faced no Republican candidate in the general election.
Read the indictment below.
[image via Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office]
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