A 28-year-old Loganville man started the year off badly when his odd actions in view of Covington Chief of Police Stacey Cotton in the parking lot of the QuickTrip gas station had police looking into the possibility of a drug deal and ended up with him arrested on multiple drug charges.

According to reports from the Covington Police Department, Cotton saw two while males exchanging money and what appeared to be some sort of item in the parking lot of the gas station. He reportedly made contact with the two men and contacted officers from the police department to respond to the area. When officers arrived they made contact with George Douglas Ashley.

Officers asked Ashley if he had any weapons and he reportedly told them he kept a razor knife in his pocket and told officers they could remove it. When the officer went into the pocket Ashley indicated he came away empty handed. Ashley allegedly told them to try the other pocket, saying that he knew he had the knife, and when officers tried that pocket they did not find a knife but instead found that Ashley had a pocket full of pills.

During this time, reports indicate that Ashley appeared to be under the influence of drugs during this time. When officers looked at the pills from his pocket they found that they were all 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 he was informed that per the law, prescription pills had to be kept in their original container, Ashley allegedly said that the container was too big so he just put “a handful in my pocket at a time.” He also reportedly said that he had a prescription for Xanax and that there were two pills in his car.

Officers spoke with the other man who 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.

However the woman told authorities that all three of them had been planning on 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 of any sort. They were allowed to leave.

A search of Ashley’s vehicle however yielded a vitamin bottle inside the glove box. Inside of the bottle officers reportedly noticed a strong smell of marijuana in the bottle and three Hydracodone tablets mixed in with the vitamins. Ashley allegedly told officers he had “no idea” why the bottle smelled like marijuana and that the prescription pills were inside of it because he “needed somewhere to put them.”

At this point Ashley allegedly began apologizing to officers because of multiple pornographic magazines found inside the car. He reportedly told them that he has a Hispanic helper at work and that man had left the magazines in the car.

He allegedly told officers “my Mexican left those magazines in the car, and I think it’s sick.”

When officers told Ashley they were unable to find the Xanax he said was inside the car he reportedly said “Like I said, my Mexican probably stole them from me.”

At this point 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. En route to the jail Ashley allegedly asked the officer “why am I the only one going to jail?” When asked why he thought the others should go to jail Ashley reportedly said “I don’t know.” 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.