A defendant from North Georgia received 15 years to serve in prison following a guilty plea to drug trafficking in Jones County Superior Court.
Jason Earl Ray received 30 years for the charge of trafficking methamphetamine or amphetamine, five years for possession firearm during the commission of a felony, and five years for possession firearm by convicted felon. The firearm sentences are to run consecutively to the trafficking sentence, which brought the total to 35 years with the first 15 years served in confinement. The reminder of the sentence may be served on probation.
The negotiated plea did not charge Ray as a recidivist, which would have required the service of all 35 years. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections website, this will be Ray’s fourth time in prison.
The plea was accepted by Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley, who stated the maximum sentence for the charges was 45 years to serve and the minimum 10 years. A mandated fine of $300,000 was also part of the trafficking sentence.
“Good luck,” the judge said. “I hope you find another line of work. You aren’t particularly good at this one.”
Ray was represented by defense attorney Tim Lam, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cara Fiore. The prosecutor told the court that Ray was in possession of more than 300 grams at the time of his arrest.
In a News article about the arrest, Jones County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Barron Hall said Teri Michelle Esco, and Ray were arrested Aug. 25, 2021 and charged with trafficking in methamphetamine. He said Ray was also charged with possession of firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The investigator said their arrests were pursuant to an ongoing investigation. He explained that officers received a tip that the suspects were coming to a local business with a half to a pound of methamphetamine. Hall said he, JCSO Investigator Robert Reece and members of the U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force were watching for Ray, who was easily identified because of his tattoos.
He said, as officers approached the vehicle in the parking lot, they observed the pistol in plain sight when Ray opened the door of the car. Hall said the weight of the meth found in the vehicle was half of a pound.
The defendants were indicted for their offenses by a Jones County Grand Jury Oct. 13, 2021.
