Hinds County announced the temporary appointment of a new District Attorney yesterday following the resignation of former District Attorney Jody Owens on Monday.
Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd appointed Brad McCullouch as attorney pro tempore for the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, meaning he is just stepping into the position until the position can be filled with a more permanent appointment. McCullouch was First Assistant District Attorney under Owens.
“My immediate priority is simple: to ensure the work of this office continues without interruption,”
McCullouch said in a July 1 press release from the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office.
Mississippi district attorneys are elected for four-year terms, but McCullouch’s position will end when Miss. Gov. Tate Reeves appoints a new district attorney to the position, the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office said in the July 1 press release.
“We will continue moving cases forward, supporting victims, working with our law enforcement partners, and cooperating with the Federal Receiver to address ongoing challenges at the Hinds County Detention Center,” McCullouch said in the July 1 press release.
Owens’ Monday resignation came hand-in-hand with his guilty plea in federal court for charges surrounding a bribery scandal involving multiple former Jackson officials. Federal prosecutors initially indicted Owens for his part in the scandal in November of 2024.
“This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made,” Owens said of his resignation in a Monday social media post. “… I leave knowing the office is filled with talented, dedicated public servants who will continue the important work of protecting our community.”
Prosecutors accused Owens of leading a scheme to bribe elected officials at the request of two real estate developers who were actually FBI agents between 2023 and 2024. The indictment alleges Owens and other officials accepted bribes directly from the undercover FBI agents, prosecutors alleged.
Owens won his last reelection bid in November of 2023 in an election that made headlines after nine precincts across the county ran out of ballots on election day.
Owens originally pleaded not guilty in a Nov. 7, 2024, hearing alongside former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron B. Banks.
Former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Hinds County businessman Sherik Marve Smith both pleaded guilty to related charges in 2024.
Banks and Lumumba maintain their not guilty pleas. Their trial alongside Owens was scheduled for July 13.
No new candidates for the Hinds County district attorney position have publicly expressed their interest in running for the office when it is back on ballot in 2027.
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