Jason Earnest Jones
A Catoosa County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for meth trafficking.
A Catoosa County jury found Jason Earnest Jones guilty of trafficking in methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.
The defendant was apprehended by a multi-jurisdictional team comprised of officers from the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia State Patrol, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
In the course of a probable-cause search of the defendant’s pickup truck, law enforcement found over 300 grams of methamphetamine, packaging materials, and a set of digital scales. During a subsequent search of the defendant’s cell phone, the police uncovered a number of incriminating text message threads.
Upon questioning, the defendant admitted to bringing large quantities of illicit drugs into Northwest Georgia from the Atlanta area.
The case was prosecuted at trial by Assistant District Attorney Zachary Trippe.
At sentencing, the judge declined the state’s request for life imprisonment and instead sentenced the defendant, a thrice-convicted felon with two prior possession-with-intent convictions, to a term of 20 years in the Department of Corrections.
District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller said he has made it a point of emphasis in his office to seek harsher penalties for drug dealers. “If you’re caught trafficking over 300 grams of methamphetamine - especially with a history as a convicted drug dealer - you can bet we’re going to seek the harshest penalty the law allows. We will not let you bring that poison into our community. We will find you, we will prosecute you, and we will make sure you can't harm our community ever again.”