Southern District of Georgia |  Lead defendant sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for involvement in a major drug trafficking operation in the Augusta area

AUGUSTA, GA.: The main defendant in a major methamphetamine trafficking organization has been sentenced to two decades in prison after admitting his involvement in a conspiracy linked to at least one overdose death.

Jayson Dwayne Wheatley, 42, of Augusta, was sentenced to 240 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess and distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of heroin, said David H. Estes, US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Chief Justice of the United States District Court J. Randal Hall also fined Wheatley $2,500 and sentenced him to five years of supervised imprisonment.

There is no probation in the federal system.

“The epidemic of drug overdoses and deaths continues to devastate our country, and traffickers like Jayson Wheatley are adding fuel to this blazing fire while enabling violent crimes through the illicit drug trade,” said US Attorney Estes. “Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, he and his co-conspirators will be held accountable for their crimes.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Wheatley and his co-defendants were arrested in April 2022 in USA v. Wheatley et. al, based on evidence gathered during the investigation at Operation Wheat Fields. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces’ investigation began in early 2018 and identified a pipeline of illegal drugs originating in Mexico that was routed through Atlanta and into the Augusta region. The investigation led to multiple searches of homes and hotel rooms and linked at least one overdose death in the Augusta area to drugs distributed by the conspiracy.

In addition to Wheatley, six other defendants were named in the federal indictment. Two were sentenced to federal prisons; Three defendants are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to related charges. One defendant is awaiting further trials.

A related charge in Operation Wheat Fields, USA v. Fields et. al, named 10 additional defendants in October 2022. One of these defendants has entered a guilty plea; The remaining defendants are awaiting further trial and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“ATF will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to advance violent crime reduction,” said Beau Kolodka, deputy special agent in charge of the Atlanta Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office responsible for.

“These criminal drug organizations are bringing misery and death to communities everywhere,” said Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “This defendant will no longer be able to spread the poison that is destroying our communities.”

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-gathering, multi-agency approach.

Operation Wheat Fields was investigated by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the US Drug Enforcement Administration; the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office; and the Swainsboro Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Patricia G. Rhodes, Assistant US Attorney and Chief of Criminal Investigation for the Southern District of Georgia.