A Short Stint As DA Leads To License Revocation
The Georgia Supreme Court has accepted the voluntary license surrender of a convicted former district attorney
Jones has been a member of the Georgia Bar since 2007. In his petition, he admits that on November 15, 2021, in the Superior Court of Muscogee County, he entered a guilty plea to influencing a witness, violation of oath by a public officer, and two counts of attempted violation of oath by a public officer—all felonies under Georgia law.
Law & Crime reported on the plea
A district attorney in Georgia accused of using his position to try to influence in at least two prosecutions has pleaded guilty to four counts and has resigned after just eight months in office.
Now-former Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mark Preston Jones pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of attempted violation of oath by public officer, one count of violation of oath by public officer, and one count of influencing witnesses, according to a press release from the office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.
His plea comes one week after jury selection and days after the jury apparently had decided to convict him on at least three of the nine charges against him, according to a report in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, but he will serve only one, plus four years of probation, according to the Ledger-Enquirer. He will also have to pay a $1,000 fine.
Jones, a Democrat who took office in January, had faced additional charges of bribery and attempted subornation of perjury. His plea comes after the jury had apparently agreed that he was guilty on at least three counts, according to a Ledger-Enquirer report.
According to the indictment, Jones allegedly tried to persuade a police officer to lie to a grand jury to get a murder indictment. He was also accused of attempting to bribe an assistant district attorney under his supervision and of trying to prevent a victim of a crime from submitting a victim impact statement to the court.
It was the third time Jones was indicted in criminal cases since 2019.
(Mike Frisch)