Hinds County DA, Jody Owens issues statement after office and business were raided by FBI

Several businesses in Jackson, including one owned by Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, were raided by the FBI's Jackson office Wednesday morning.

Crime scene tape was wrapped around Downtown Cigar Company LLC on Pearl Street, a business owned by Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's website.

Just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Owens' released a statement on his Facebook page confirming FBI agents came to his office at the Hinds County Courthouse. Read the statement below:

"This morning, FBI agents came to our office," the statement reads. "We are fully cooperating with their efforts. The Hinds County District Attorney's Office is fully functioning and continues its work on behalf of the citizens of Hinds County. That has been and will continue to be our primary focus. Currently, we have not further statements."

Another business next door, Downtown Daiquiri and Pizza, also was surrounded by law enforcement agents.

One FBI agent told the Clarion Ledger he had been standing outside of Owens' business for "a couple hours." Along with the FBI, Capitol Police was also on the scene.

"The FBI is executing federal search warrants at multiple locations," said FBI Spokesperson Marshay Lawson in an email. "The affidavit in support of the search warrants has been sealed by the court and so I am prohibited from commenting further. There is no threat to public safety."

Owens was first elected as Hinds County's District Attorney in 2019 after being the managing attorney at the Mississippi office of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He was reelected to the office in November 2023.

In a separate 2022 incident, Owens was accused of pointing a gun at Joshua Towns of Hattiesburg who told police he was visiting his "lady friend" in her apartment on Pearl Street when Owens entered the apartment and pointed a gun at him, according to previous Clarion Ledger reporting. The woman was reportedly an employee in Owens' office.

Owens denied all allegations at the time.

In September 2023, Owens successfully prosecuted John Davis, former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, for misspending public welfare money in the state's largest embezzlement case. He pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy and 13 counts of fraud against the government. A federal judge indefinitely delayed Davis' sentencing in January 2023.

"While this case is far from over, John Davis’s guilty plea is a resounding victory for the State of Mississippi and its citizens," Owens said at the time.

Davis and six others were indicted in 2020 after State Auditor Shad White released an audit the year prior that "questioned" more than $94 million in welfare money spending.  The audit revealed millions were funneled through the MDHS to several interested parties to spend on special projects, luxury vehicles and even for a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hinds County DA releases statement after FBI raids office, business