A Gainesville man, arrested two years ago in connection with a $2.8 million drug bust, was arrested again this week on new drug charges.
Jason Mark Ayers, 39, was arrested Wednesday, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and charged with Trafficking in Cocaine/Illegal Drugs/Marijuana/Meth and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute.
Ayers had been freed on bond on the earlier charges three months after his July 28, 2022, arrest.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said the federal government initially took the case but recently asked the sheriff’s office to handle it. “Our warrants were taken and served Wednesday,” Derreck Booth said.
SHERIFF’S OFFICE 2022 NEWS RELEASE:
“A Gainesville man faces drug distribution charges following the discovery last week of a multi-million dollar stash of methamphetamine in a wooded area off Whelchel Mill Road.
The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office had been investigating the activity of Jason Mark Ayers, 38, for a month at the time of his arrest on July 28, 2022. On that day, investigators discovered approximately eight kilograms of methamphetamine and 20 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine in the woods. They also found some drug paraphernalia used for turning liquid meth into the finished product. Ayers was arrested the same day during a traffic stop at the intersection of Spout Springs Road and Forrest Knoll Drive. The approximate street value of the drugs seized at the Whelchel Mill Road site is $2.8 million, according to investigators.
Investigators also tied Ayers to a March 31, 2022 drug seizure at a storage facility on Dawsonville Highway. In that operation, drug agents with the HSI Task Force and the Hall County Sheriff’s Office discovered approximately 600 grams of methamphetamine, 20 grams of cocaine, 199 grams of heroin and 60 grams of psilocybin mushrooms in a storage unit at the facility. Street value of the drugs from the March 31 seizure was $122,000.
At this time, Ayers remains in the Hall County Jail with no bond and faces the following charges:
For the Whelchel Mill Road drug seizure:
• Trafficking in methamphetamine
• Possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute
For the Dawsonville Highway drug seizure:
• Trafficking methamphetamine
• Possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute
• Possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute
• Trafficking heroin
• Possession of heroin with the intent to distribute
• Possession of psilocybin mushrooms with the intent to distribute.”