Johnny L. Jones

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Johnny L. Jones (born July 26, 1933, died December 3, 1993) was the former Miami-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, on September 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.