A pair of Cookeville men face felony drug charges after deputies caught them speeding with a grocery bag of methamphetamine in their car.

The suspects include driver, Jesus Ayala, 25, and his passenger, Alberto Yanez, 25. Ayala is charged with driving while in possession of meth, delivery of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving without a license, violation of the open container law and speeding. Yanez is charged with delivery of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. They will face hearing on July 31 in front of General Sessions Judge Bill Locke.

They were arrested after Deputy Ben Cannon clocked Ayala heading westbound on Highway 70, traveling 80 miles per hour. Cannon said he turned around on the vehicle and watched as he weaved in and out of the fog line. Even as he was watching the driver drift toward the shoulder, Cannon saw the passenger hurl a white grocery bag out the passenger-side window.

The driver then pulled over for the deputy and admitted he did not have a license.

“While I was talking to the driver, I saw the passenger throw another object from the vehicle,” Cannon said, noting he waited for backup to arrive before retrieving the bag.

“We recovered a grocery bag which contained a bag with 56 grams of yellowish-white substance that field tested to be methamphetamine.”

Officers suspect the men were dealing the drug given the large amount of the drug they had with them and the digital scales they recovered from the bag Yanez threw out of the vehicle.