A former corrections officer who previously served time in federal prison for smuggling methamphetamine into Hays State Prison in Trion is facing new federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Mark Edward Jeffery, 41, of Calhoun, appeared in federal court Tuesday following his arrest on the new charges. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jeffery on September 8.

Jeffery formerly worked as a Georgia Department of Corrections officer at Hays State Prison. Federal prosecutors say that in February 2018, he was caught smuggling cell phones, chargers and methamphetamine into the prison. Jeffery pleaded guilty to a federal methamphetamine trafficking charge in April 2019 and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

The new case stems from an incident in Gordon County on February 11, 2025.

According to federal prosecutors, 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.

Authorities allege that multiple bags of methamphetamine, a baggie of heroin, two loaded handguns, a digital scale and multiple empty bags commonly used for packaging narcotics were found inside the vehicle.

Jeffery has now been federally charged with possession with 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.

U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said Jeffery faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison if convicted.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Cartersville Resident Agency, with assistance from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.