Former JPD officer free on $10,000 unsecured bond

A Jackson police officer arrested on federal extortion charges walked out of the courtroom on $10,000 unsecured bond Thursday.

Officer Bryan Jones, 44, of Jackson, was arrested and charged with interference with commerce by threats or violence, according to court records. A release from the U.S. Attorney's office termed the charge as "extortion by use of his position as a police officer."

Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance said he sees Jones' arrest as a positive thing for his department because it weeds out a negative influence within the ranks.

"I know I speak for the other 99.9% of Jackson police officers that put their lives on the line every day, that’s the biggest thing that really angers me, because people will look at someone like Bryan Jones and think he’s typical of the type of police officers that we have," Vance said. "I can’t scream it loud enough that’s not true, because I know day in, day out, they work their butts off and put their lives on the line."

Jones, who had been with JPD since November 2008, had his initial appearance Thursday at before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson. The offense charged in the complaint carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.

Court documents state that Jones, "by means of actual or threatened force or violence or fear of injury, immediate and future to the victim's person; and by use of his position as a Jackson Police Officer, did obtain personal property, cash unlawfully from another, with and without his consent, which was not due defendant because of his position as a police officer, and thus under color of official right."

FBI Special Agent Glenn Folsom said for the record in the affidavit filed in federal court that Jones was allegedly known in the community to be corrupt, and to associate with certain drug dealers. Folsom stated that Jones assisted the drug dealers with trafficking and collected fees in exchange for law enforcement protection. He also gave out police intelligence, specifically which officers would be assigned to patrol specific areas at specific times.

He also gave drug dealers the identities of specific officers assigned to task forces in the Jackson area, documents stated. He would allegedly use his marked JPD vehicle to make illegal traffic stops, searches and seizures on competitors or rival drug dealers, and would seize any money or drugs in their possession for his associates and himself to keep.

"Drug dealers are some of the most despicable people in our society. They cause all types of pain and destruction through our families and our communities," Vance said. "For a police officer to participate in that type of activity, I find absolutely disgusting."

Vance said task force officers and FBI agents worked together on the investigation and that Jones was indicted Thursday.

According to the affidavit, Jones would allegedly use the alias "Red" when dealing with the drug community. He also allegedly used his authority as a police officer to conduct NCIC checks on plates and guns believed to be stolen.

Folsom stated that the FBI had an informant who contacted Jones in June 2014 regarding someone who was allegedly coming into Jackson to purchase around $5,000 in drugs. Jones agreed to stop the person and seize cash and contraband. He met the undercover vehicle by using his patrol car's lights to pull them over. He took the driver out of the car and put him behind the patrol car, then retreived $5,500 in cash from the undercover vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Officials said Jones questioned the undercover FBI employee about the money and when he learned it was to be used to buy drugs, he used his position as an officer to obtain permission to take the money. He placed $1,500 in the employee's back pocket and kept $4,000, according to the court documents. No contraband or illegal drugs were recovered, and he was released. The $4,000 was never recorded or placed in Jackson Police Department's evidence logs.

Jones later met with the informant and gave him $1,500 of the $4,000.

In April 2015, the same informant contacted Jones regarding a second fictitious drug associate who was coming to Jackson to buy around $5,000 in drugs. Jones pulled up to the undercover vehicle and began talking to him through the driverside window, then searche dhim and placed him in the patrol car without handcuffs. Upon searching the vehicle, Jones allegedly found $5,000 and returned to the patrol car to question the driver. He then "used his position as JPD officer and threats of criminal prosecution to obtain permission from (the driver) to keep the money," the affidavit states.

Jones did not find contraband or illegal drugs in that vehicle either, Folsom stated.

Jones later met the informant to divide the money, and gave him $2,500. None of the money taken in that stop was ever entered into JPD evidence either.

The documents allege that Jones was carrying his service pistol, driving his JPD patrol car, and wearing his uniform on both stops.

United States Attorney Gregory K. Davis praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance and the Jackson Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

"We've seen a lot of success in fighting crime, and we’ve made it clear that our approach is through community oriented policing, and that we want interaction with the public. I would say above all, thank you to the community for passing this information on to us," Vance said. "We have vowed to vigorously enforce the laws in this city, and we will do that indiscriminately."

The chief said while the investigation took over a year, it was done thoroughly in order to have a solid case and enough evidence for an indictment. He said Jones was terminated Wednesday, and that he has not addressed his former employee.

"We had detectives from our internal affairs deliver his termination yesterday," Vance said. "And quite frankly, there's nothing he and I have to talk about."

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com or (601) 961-7236. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.