A former official at the James River Residential Reentry Facility in Newport News, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from an inmate. Marlon R. Jones, Jr., aged 44 from Portsmouth, admitted to receiving payments from an inmate identified as L.C., with whom he had a personal relationship.
Court documents reveal that Jones held supervisory authority over L.C., who was under home confinement since January 2021. From April 2021 through September 2022, their relationship extended beyond professional boundaries. During this period, Jones engaged in sexual contact and exchanged explicit messages with L.C. via phone and text.
L.C. compensated Jones on several occasions for assistance in making disciplinary violations disappear. This arrangement came to light when another supervisor took over the facility and discovered unrecorded incidents involving L.C. Specifically, only three out of at least fourteen incidents were properly documented.
The exchanges between Jones and L.C., including those revealing sexual contact and monetary transactions, involved both physical currency and electronic transfers through CashApp. Between September 24, 2021, and March 29, 2022, five transactions totaling $650 were sent to Jones via CashApp.
Furthermore, L.C. referred other individuals to Jones for similar arrangements.
Jones is scheduled for sentencing on August 7 and could face up to 15 years in prison; however, federal sentences often fall short of the maximum penalties. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after reviewing U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, alongside Timothy C. Edmiston from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region after U.S Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard accepted the plea.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Julie Podlesni.
Further details can be found on the websites of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia or PACER by searching Case No. 4:25-cr-3.