A former Durant police officer charged in April 2023 with two counts of embezzlement pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week.
Forty-eight-year-old Billy Joe Jones of Durant was given a seven-year deferred sentence during the court hearing May 29. As part of the plea, he was given a 30-day jail sentence and ordered to surrender his law enforcement CLEET card.
According to court records, Jones is required to pay $986.21 per month in restitution until the approximate $100,000 is paid off and he paid $16,500 in restitution up front.
Jones, who retired in 2022 after almost 24 years of service with the Durant Police Department, was accused of embezzling funds seized from drug arrests and also the Durant Fraternal Order of Police.
According to a court document, between March 2018 and September 2021, Jones took $67,237.25 from monies seized during drug arrests while he was a narcotics offi cer with the Durant Police Department. The document states that between July 2020 and February 2022, Jones used an ATM to withdraw a total of $37,105.00 in Fraternal Order of Police funds while he was a financial officer for FOP.
According to a news release by DPD and FOP, in May 2022, police discovered monetary discrepancies linked to Jones, who retired as a lieutenant on Feb. 25, 2022.
“While employed at the Durant Police Department, Jones was an active member of the Durant Fraternal Order of Police, serving in the roles of both president and secretary/ treasurer,” the news release states. “Soon after Jones’ retirement, members of the FOP discovered apparent financial discrepancies had occurred within his area of responsibility as secretary/ treasurer.”
When the department was notified of this by FOP, police reviewed Jones’ activity while he was a narcotics officer, and monetary discrepancies criminal in nature were discovered, according to the news release.
The case was then turned over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and charges were filed following completion of OSBI’s investigation.
