- Johnny L. Jones
Johnny L. Jones (born
July 26 ,1933 , diedDecember 3 ,1993 ) was the formerMiami-Dade schools superintendent between 1977 and 1979, who was the first black person to hold the post in Miami-Dade.He was convicted on grand theft charges linked to gold-plated plumbing on March 1980. His conviction was overturned because his jury had been all white, and on
July 3 ,1986 the state attorney,Janet Reno , announced that Jones would not be retried. But in a separate case, he was convicted on misdemeanor charges of soliciting perjury and witness tampering and received a two year jail sentence. Many believed Jones was targeted because he was an African American man in power.In
Miami, Florida , onSeptember 23 ,1984 , Jones, was again in the news as he accidentally crashed his car into a house killing a six year old boy. Jones was acquitted of careless driving charges.
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