/Ex-Hinds assistant DA to enter guilty plea

Ex-Hinds assistant DA to enter guilty plea

Johnson was charged July 15, through what’s known as a bill of Information. This is a legal accusation by the U.S. government and doesn’t require a grand jury. According to the docket of the U.S. District Court in southern Mississippi, Johnson will plead guilty on Thursday. The docket also indicates that Johnson will be arraigned on Thursday and plead guilty before Magistrate Judge Linda Anderson. His appearance is scheduled before U.S. district Judge Tom S. Lee. Johnson is not shown in the docket with legal representation. Johnson is charged with one count of accepting money from “others” for “a transaction” or “a series” of transactions that involved $5,000 or more by the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office. Johnson is charged with accepting at least $15,000 from an unnamed conspirator. The government claims that Johnson accepted $500 to reduce the bond of the defendant “S.B.” from $15,000 down to $3,500. Johnson has not been employed in the D.A.’s Office since July 18. Johnson was arrested less than one month after his former boss, District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith was charged with six misdemeanor charges of illegally aiding criminal defendants. Smith has not yet responded to the charges. However, his attorney Jim Waide, Tupelo will present his case to Circuit Judge LaRita cooper-Stokes for dismissal. Waide is also asking the Mississippi Supreme Court for dismissal of Circuit Judge Jeff Weill’s prohibition against Smith acting in his courtroom as district attorney. He also wants to see the documents and minutes of Smith’s hearings unsealed. After the Jackson-based U.S. Attorney’s Office removed itself from the case due to potential conflicts of interests, Allison Duncan Bushnell is leading Johnson’s prosecution.