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Odd actions before police chief lead to jail time
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A 28-year-old Loganville man started the year off with an arrest on multiple drug charges after his actions in a gas station parking lot drew the attention of Covington Chief of Police Stacey Cotton.

According to Covington Police Department reports, Cotton saw two men exchanging money and what appeared to be some sort of item in the QuickTrip parking lot. He reportedly made contact with the two men and called officers.

When officers arrived, they asked one of the men, George Douglas Ashley, if he had any weapons. He reportedly told them he kept a razor knife in his pocket and told officers they could remove it. Officers searched for the knife, but instead found that Ashley had a pocket full of pills, apparently hydracodone.

Ashley reportedly told officers that he had a prescription for the pills due to a work injury, saying, "I always have pills, because I'm always getting hurt at work."

When told that prescription pills had to be kept in original containers, Ashley allegedly said that the container was too big, so he put "a handful in my pocket at a time." He also reportedly said he had a prescription for Xanax and that there were two pills in his car.

Officers spoke with the other man, whom Cotton had seen exchanging money with Ashley. Ashley told officers he had been picking that man up to give him a ride to his home in Loganville and that the man had received a ride to the gas station from a woman who was also on the scene. Ashley allegedly said that the other man had wanted money to give to the woman for gas and that he had given him some cash.

The woman said that all three of them were going to a club in Conyers. The other man verified the money was for gas and that he had no knowledge of any pills in Ashley's vehicle. Officers asked to search both vehicles and were given permission, according to reports. The female's vehicle and the male's pockets yielded no illegal contraband, and they were allowed to leave.

Officers searched Ashley's vehicle and the glove box found a vitamin bottle with three Hydracodone tablets mixed in with the vitamins.

Ashley was arrested and charged with possession of Schedule II drugs and drugs not in their original container, and transported to the Newton County Detention Center. Once at the jail, Ashley was searched and a Xanax was found in the bottom of his pants pocket, giving him an additional charge of possession of Schedule IV drugs.