New court filings detail body cam footage, other evidence against suspended DA Jones
Fresh court filings in the felony misconduct case against suspended Columbus District Attorney Mark Jones delve into details of the evidence against him.
The motions filed this week by Deputy Attorney General John Fowler lay out allegations that Jones tried to influence the testimony of a homicide detective and tried to persuade the nephew of a homicide victim to drop a victims rights complaint.
In both cases, Jones’ comments were recorded, including about 10 minutes on police Cpl. Sherman Hayes’ body camera, as Jones confronted the officer outside a downtown bar, and 32 minutes of audio that Chris Bailey recorded over the phone as he and Jones discussed the death of Bailey’s uncle Danny Jones.
Fowler in a separate motion cited Jones’ conduct in a cold-case murder as evidence that he “willfully disregards law and ethics to win murder cases at any cost.”
The prosecutor also asked that Jones’ bond conditions be altered so that Jones may consume neither alcohol nor illegal drugs, and that he commit no new crimes and contact no potential witnesses.
Jones was indicted Sept. 7 on nine felony charges that include bribery and trying to influence witnesses, and he was suspended from office Monday, pending the outcome of his trial.
He did not immediately respond to a Ledger-Enquirer phone call Thursday seeking comment on the motions.
The body camera
Here’s a rundown of the evidence Fowler cited.
He wrote that Hayes was working security with other uniformed officers outside a downtown bar last July when Jones walked up and started bragging about a case he won that week. In about three minutes, Jones recognized Hayes and addressed him directly, mentioning a fatal shooting that Hayes found to be accidental.
Hayes told Jones that evidence showed the shooting was not intentional. Jones argued that the suspect should have been charged with murder instead of involuntary manslaughter.
Citing the sentence range for involuntary manslaughter, Jones said, “That’s a one to 10. That’s weak s--t. How are they going to plead to that if they don’t have murder?”
According to Fowler, this exchange followed:
“He shot her; know why? He thought she was cheating. That’s why,” Jones said.
Said Hayes: “He doesn’t have a relationship with her.”
Referring to the cheating claim, Jones said, “You should testify to that.”
Said Hayes: “I’m going to testify to the facts.”
Jones replied, “Nah, man. That’s f--ked up, bro. That’s a one to 10.”
Fowler wrote that Jones continued to argue until he realized Hayes’ body camera was recording, then claimed he was only joking.
The phone call
In the audio recording Bailey made of his March 30 phone conversation with Jones, the two discussed Bailey’s court motion complaining that one of two suspects then accused of fatally injuring his uncle was released from jail on a reduced bond, and Bailey’s family was not notified of the bond hearing, a violation of Georgia’s crime victims rights law.
The suspect initially was charged with murder, and his bond was lowered because a grand jury indicted him instead for involuntary manslaughter.
According to Fowler, Jones told Bailey the case should be re-indicted for murder, and pushed Bailey to drop his victims rights motion, telling Bailey that if he didn’t, Jones would claim he had a conflict that kept him from representing Bailey’s family.
That would lead to another prosecutor’s taking the case, and Jones implied a conviction would be less likely, Fowler wrote, adding that Jones told Bailey he would stay on the case only if Bailey withdrew his motion. Bailey later withdrew it.
The cold case
As evidence of Jones’ pattern of conduct, Fowler cited Jones’ abruptly announcing he would seek the death penalty in the cold-case murder of Columbus auto shop owner Kirby Smith, whose 2004 homicide was featured on the TV show “Cold Justice.”
Jones inherited the case when he took office in January. Pending at the time were court orders that the prosecution share with the defense evidence related to the “Cold Justice” show, among other material. Prosecutors repeatedly failed to comply with the court orders.
During a hearing in August, the defense asked Judge Gil McBride to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning it could not be revived, because of prosecutor’s disobeying the judge’s orders.
Jones responded by announcing he would seek the death penalty against the two suspects in Smith’s homicide, and asked McBride to determine whether the defense attorneys were qualified to handle a capital case.
“To proceed today they are going to need counsel who is qualified to handle a death penalty case,” Jones told McBride, of the defense motion to dismiss the charges adding, “I don’t even think we can hear this motion.”
Jones in September said he had decided not to pursue the death penalty.
The defense filed motions asking McBride to rule that Jones’ seeking capital punishment was purely “vindictive,” and the judge so decided Oct. 1, barring prosecutors from pursuing a capital case, Fowler wrote.
Fowler cited this as evidence of Jones’ “state of mind” in handling murder cases:
“This is highly probative of how far Jones would go to obtain murder convictions because if Jones is willing to seek a defendant’s death for a tactical advantage in court, he is certainly willing to improperly influence witnesses, police officers, and prosecutors.”
What’s next?
Jones so far is acting as his own attorney. He is to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Tuesday before visiting Judge Katherine Lumsden of the Houston Judicial Circuit, as all local judges have recused themselves to avoid any conflict of interest.
Lumsden will be using Judge McBride’s courtroom on the 11th floor of the Columbus Government Center.
Jones in his court motions has demanded a hearing in which he can confront and question the prosecution’s witnesses, to determine what evidence he would ask the court to exclude from his trial, which he has asked to be set for Nov. 8.
Here are the charges he was indicted on: