CRESTVIEW — A Pensacola defense attorney and two former Crestview High School students are accused of smuggling contraband into a Crestview jail.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from the Okaloosa County Jail on Dec. 29, 2015 in reference to a tip that Joseph Oreste Reosti, 47, was providing contraband to an inmate during a legal visit.
Inmate Jacob Hice, 29, had his girlfriend, Alissa Barr, 23, put an illegal narcotic in boxes of candy for him, according to an anonymous tipster, who said Barr would give the candy boxes to Reosti, who brought them to Hice at the jail.
Hice had a legal visit with Reosti on Dec. 29 and was strip-searched afterward. Correctional Officers found a box of Milk Duds in Hice’s groin area and a box of Mike and Ikes in his socks, and a Christmas card signed by Barr in his legal folder.
The Milk Duds box had tape on the outside with bits of red paper matching the Christmas card envelope. Inside the box was a bag of suspected spice labeled “Deadman Walking” and a lighter.
Investigators say jail lobby video showed Reosti entering the facility with his pants pockets bulging from the candy boxes and holding the card. They say he had no other documents or a briefcase with him. He signed in and listed Jacob Hice as the inmate he was visiting. When he signed out, the envelope was gone and his pockets were no longer bulging.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says the package labeled “Deadman Walking” contained Fluoro-AMB, a controlled synthetic substance with no current accepted medical use.
Investigators say on Dec. 27, Barr contacted Reosti and offered to drive to Pensacola to give him the boxes of candies and Christmas card for Hice. She also contacted him 15 times asking him when he was going to visit Hice.
They say Reosti is an experienced criminal defense attorney who willfully disregarded obvious indications of illegal activity and the potential for harm, and knew, or should have known, there was a reasonable suspicion that the boxes contained more than just candy.
Reosti is charged with third-degree possession of a hallucinogen and third-degree smuggling contraband into a detention facility, both felonies.
Barr, a Shalimar resident and former Crestview High School student, and Hice, a former Crestview High School and Okaloosa Academy student, also face charges of possession of a controlled substance and smuggling contraband into a detention facility.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Inmate, girlfriend & defense attorney charged with smuggling at Crestview jail