Ex-Georgia corrections officer indicted on drug trafficking, firearms charges after prison sentence

A former Georgia Department of Corrections officer who served a five-year prison sentence for smuggling methamphetamine is now facing new drug trafficking and firearm charges.

Early this month, a federal grand jury indicted 41-year-old Mark Edward Jeffery on charges of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Authorities say Jeffery previously worked at Hays State Prison in Trion, Georgia, and was caught smuggling cell phones, chargers, and methamphetamine into the prison in February 2018. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of methamphetamine trafficking in 2019 and was sentenced to five years.

In February 2025, officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said a deputy with the Gordon County Sheriff's Office found Jeffery sleeping a vehicle. When the deputy searched Jeffery and the vehicle, prosecutors say they found a bag of pills, multiple bags of methamphetamine, a baggie of heroin, two loaded handguns, and a digital scale.

"A convicted drug trafficker, Jeffery was allegedly undeterred from dealing methamphetamine, despite having served a five-year prison sentence. Now he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.  "My office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold repeat offenders accountable in every county in our district."

The case remains under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gordon County Sheriff's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.