Former corrections officer faces new drug and gun charges after 5-year federal prison stint (DOJ)

ROME - Mark Edward Jeffery, a former Georgia Department of Corrections officer convicted of smuggling methamphetamine into state prison, appeared in federal court today following his arrest on new drug trafficking and firearms charges.

"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."

"This defendant allegedly picked up right where he left off when he was released from prison, believing that he could profit by peddling drugs," said Mitchell Jackson, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for FBI Atlanta's Cartersville office. "The FBI works every day to hold individuals accountable for poisoning communities with dangerous drugs."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Jeffery is a former state corrections officer who was stationed at Hays State Prison in Trion, Georgia. In February 2018, Jeffery was caught smuggling cellular telephones, chargers, and methamphetamine into the prison. In April 2019, Jeffery pleaded guilty to a federal charge of methamphetamine trafficking and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

On February 11, 2025, a Gordon County Sheriff's Office deputy encountered Jeffery sleeping in a vehicle. During a subsequent search, the deputy allegedly found a clear bag containing multiple-colored pills in Jeffery's pocket and multiple bags of methamphetamine, a baggie of heroin, two loaded handguns, a digital scale used for weighing narcotics, and multiple empty bags for packaging narcotics in his vehicle.

On September 8, 2026, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Mark Edward Jeffery, 41, of Calhoun, Georgia, charging him with 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.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cartersville Resident Agency with valuable assistance provided by the Gordon County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Herskowitz and Edward C. Robinson Jr. are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Updated September 22, 2026