Prosecutors: Judge convicted of bribing officer with beer

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Federal prosecutors say a North Carolina judge has been convicted of bribery after he offered beer and money to an officer in exchange for text messages from his wife's cellphone because he suspected she was cheating on him.

The U.S. attorney's office said Friday that a jury deliberated for 33 minutes before finding Superior Court Judge Arnold Ogden Jones II guilty of paying a bribe and other charges.

Prosecutors say Jones asked a Wayne County deputy, who is also a member of an FBI gang task force, to get him copies of the text messages, even though the law prevents him from receiving them.

An attorney for Jones told The News & Observer of Raleigh (http://bit.ly/2eenMat) that his client remains on the November ballot and plans to appeal the verdict.