Mark Jones offered driver ‘free felony,’ asked where to buy cocaine, court filing says
Prosecutors are claiming suspended District Attorney Mark Jones offered an unidentified person a “free felony” and asked where he could buy some cocaine this summer, according to new court documents.
The Tuesday evening filing from state Deputy Attorney General John Fowler is the latest in a string of motions alleging Jones committed misconduct in office and intended to abuse his power as district attorney.
According to the document, Jones was out late with a friend in July 2021. Earlier that evening, he visited The Hooch, a downtown Columbus bar. At 3 a.m., Jones was intoxicated and banging on the front door of the closed bar.
Jones asked employees inside for his keys, but bar employees said they did not have them. Jones then began screaming that he was the district attorney and threatened to shut the bar down, the filing says.
A contact, who was not named in court documents, gave Jones a ride home. As they were driving, Jones offered the unidentified person a “free felony” and asked the person where he could purchase cocaine. The driver refused to help, according to the court filing.
The new allegations were included alongside previously reported incidents. Others mentioned in Tuesday’s filing include Jones’ alleged attempt to get Columbus Police Cpl. Sherman Hayes to commit perjury in a fatal shooting case. That conversation also occurred at the Hooch.
In the motion, Fowler argues that the court should allow this evidence to be submitted because the alleged cocaine incident and other events demonstrate Jones’ attempts to “abuse his power as District Attorney.”
“He threatens to shut down the bar because he is the District Attorney. This goes to the Defendant’s state of mind and his intent,” the document reads. “Furthermore, it goes to explain the Defendant’s behavior in the State’s Case-in-Chief. That is, the Defendant’s behavior is not a mistake; it is not an accident; it is not as a result of the Defendant’s inexperience as a prosecutor. This evidence directly explains the Defendant’s behavior as the District Attorney: the Defendant’s intent is to abuse his power.”
Christopher Breault, Jones’ attorney, told the Ledger-Enquirer Wednesday evening that the charges against his client were “without merit.”
“Because of that, the authorities are doing everything they can to attack the character of Mr. Jones,” Breault said. “There’s an old saying in the Law: ‘If you can’t attack the case, then attack the person., So that’s what is going on here. They know the cases are weak on the merits, so they are doing everything they can to tarnish Mr. Jones’ reputation as a person.”
In court documents filed on Wednesday, Fowler requested the court bar any mention of Jones’ parking lot damage case that ended in a mistrial last month.
Fowler also requested that the court prevent Jones and Breault from asking any questions regarding selective prosecution. Fowler argues that evidence of selective prosecution is not admissible in front of a jury.
“The defendant wishes to argue that he is a target of a selective, political prosecution. Under the current case law in Georgia, that evidence is inadmissible,” a portion of the filing reads. “The State respectfully requests that the Court prevent the Defendant from referring to his prior indictment in opening statements, closing arguments, or asking any questions designed to infer or elicit testimony regarding such matters.”
Jones, who served as chief prosecutor for the six-county judicial circuit based in Columbus before his suspension, was arraigned Tuesday on nine felony charges for alleged misconduct in office.
The charges are:
- Two counts of influencing a witness, a felony that carries 1-5 years
- Two counts of bribery, a felony that carries 1-20 years
- Two counts of violation of oath by public officer, a felony that carries 1-5 years
- Two counts of attempted violation of oath by public officer, a felony that carries 1-2.5 years
- One count of attempted subornation of perjury, a felony that carries 1-5 years.
Jones is set to appear in court Oct. 21 for a motion hearing. Judge Katherine Lumsden of the Houston Judicial Circuit is overseeing the case. The trial is set for Nov. 8.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 3:21 PM.