BLUF: [RT] Details of Jones’ arrest have not been public, but according to the News & Observer, the judge was taken in custody after a "SWAT-team-like raid" on his Wayne County home. Jones’ defense has been saying that he had never been told by the FBI officer that his request could result in a search warrant.
"The jury’s verdict affirms a bedrock principle of the rule of law," John Bruce, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a statement afterward. "No person holding a position of public trust in our legal system is permitted to subvert that system for his own personal objectives."
Sentencing in Jones’ case has been set for January 23.
On the charge of bribery, Jones faces no more than 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The charge of gratuities carries a possible term of not more than two years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The charge of attempting to corruptly influence an official proceeding could land Jones in jail for as many as 20 years behind bars and require him to pay up to $250,000. |