A second person in the Jackson bribery scandal was indicted and pleaded guilty on Thursday, relating to the case that brought down former Ward 2 Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee. At least two other elected officials are involved.
An indictment was unsealed Thursday morning for Sherik Marve’ Smith, who is associated with Owens’ “Facilities Solutions Team.” Smith was working with “Unindicted Co-Conspirator B” and “Unindicted Co-Conspirator C,” who are both elected officials of the City of Jackson, according to the indictment.
Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States at 10:18 a.m. in a hearing at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse that lasted less than 30 minutes. Smith was later released on bond and processed by federal marshals. He was scheduled to meet with probation officers.
Wearing a dark suit jacket, Smith looked serious when pleading before Chief District Judge Daniel Jordan.
An anonymous source said that Smith was present at the meetings between Owens and FBI agents, who posed as out-of-town real estate developers. Lee also met with FBI agents who posed as out-of-town real estate developers.
The indictment states that Smith agreed to give “cash payments and campaign contributions to Unindicted Co-conspirator B and Un-indicted Co-conspirator C” from the undercover FBI agents posed as real estate agents.
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The indictment is similar to that of Lee, who pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in August. Both Smith and Lee accepted money from out-of-town real estate developers from Nashville to support a development in Downtown Jackson. Lee has not been sentenced. Her scheduled November sentencing was continued.
Lee had a dinner with the undercover FBI agents and “Unindicted Co-conspirator A” in March, where she accepted bribes amounting to $13,000 in cash and approximately $6,000 in goods in exchange for her vote on the “fictitious” development plans.
Smith’s indictment shows that he was working with a “Unindicted Co-conspirator A,” as well. In March and April 2024, Both Smith and “Unindicted Co-conspirator A,” the indictment states, “corruptly give, offer, and agree to give things of value, including cash payments and campaign contributions to Unindicted Co-conspirator B and Unindicted Co-conspirator C.”
The following payments, intended as bribes, were given to Unindicted Co-conspirators B and C:
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A $10,000 cash payment from the undercover FBI agents to Unindicted Co-conspirator B.
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Protective services for Unindicted Co-conspirator B.
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An employment opportunity for a family member of Unindicted Co-conspirator B.
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A $10,000 check from Smith to Unindicted Co-conspirator C’s reelection committee using funds from the undercover FBI agents after the funds were routed through an account belonging to Unindicted Co-conspirator A.
Smith is required to “forfeit” $20,000. Smith was told he had to surrender any firearms as well. As a convicted felon, any other violation would add to his sentence. Smith’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.
The bribes were in exchange for Unindicted Co-conspirator B’s vote in favor of the downtown real estate project, which is what Lee agreed to do when she was bribed. The bribes were also in exchange for Unindicted Co-conspirator C’s agreement to move a deadline in favor of the real estate project.
Lee accepted the bribes in exchange for her support of a “fictitious” downtown development project the undercover agents were pitching to her. She also agreed to vote in favor of a road closure in furtherance of the same project, court documents show.
After Lee’s indictment, four members of the Jackson City Council revealed to the Clarion Ledger that they were also approached by and met with out-of-town real estate developers interested in building a downtown development. Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell, Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley and Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay all confirmed the meetings. None could verify if they were the same developers Lee met with who turned out to be FBI agents.
What all of the individual meetings described by the four council members have in common is that they were arranged by Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens. Owens and his lawyer, Rob McDuff, declined to answer any questions about the council members’ meetings with developers and the DA. Owens, through his lawyer, released a statement in August
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Smith’s LinkedIn bio lists his occupation as an insurance agent with Penn Global Marketing. He is a graduate of Jackson
State University. Owens’ attorney Rob McDuff declined to comment whether Smith was associated with Owens.
McDuff, confirmed in a written statement in August that Owens has “been engaged in real estate development,” which McDuff said is legal. But the statement also admits that Owens met with two men claiming to be “large-scale developers” who were interested in “the possibility of building a convention center hotel in Jackson.”
“He believed them and after multiple conversations, agreed to help them. It turns out they were operatives for the FBI,” the statement reads. “Given that status of the investigation, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say anything else at this juncture.”
Staff writers Ross Reily and Grant McLaughlin contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS bribery scandal leads to 2nd indictment after Angelique Lee
