Arnold O. Jones found guilty
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 21, 2016 11:13 AM
Arnold O. Jones
WILMINGTON - Wayne County Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones II was found guilty today on all three counts of a federal indictment charging him with bribing an officer to get copies of text messages between his wife and another man.
The verdict came after more than 30 minutes of deliberation by the jury.
Jones did not comment on his conviction.
His sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 23 in Wilmington at 10 a.m.
Geoff Hulse, one of Jones' attorneys, said Jones and his team plan to have a hearing to set aside the verdict given Friday in a hearing set for Nov. 7 in Wilmington.
Another of Jones' attorneys, Elliott Abrams, argued to the court after the verdict was handed down that Jones was guilty of a lesser crime of illegally accessing text messages.
Prosecuting attorney William Gilmore rebuffed that notion, saying to the court that the government had proved Jones' guilt on the three charges beyond a reasonable doubt and whether or not he was guilty of a different offense did not matter.
Judge James C. Fox replied that the defense was entitled to make the argument to the court.
The three-count indictment against Jones states that he promised a payment of a bribe to a public official, promised a payment of a gratuity to a public official and attempted to corruptly influence an official proceeding.
Hulse said Jones would still be running for re-election to his seat.
"He's on the ballot and running for re-election," Hulse said.
Dane Beavers, Director of the Wayne County Board of Elections, said Jones' name would not be removed from the ballot.
"He will still participate in the election," Beavers said.
Beavers said the question of Jones being able to still hold public office will be ultimately left up to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
At sentencing, Jones could face up to 37 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.