 |
Joseph Oreste Reosti
Jacob Hice
Alissa Bar
A Pensacola defense attorney has been arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and smuggling contraband into a correctional facility.
47-year old Joseph Oreste Reosti was taken into custody today. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from the Okaloosa County Jail on December 29th 2015 in reference to a tip that Reosti was providing contraband to an inmate during a legal visit.
The anonymous tip was that inmate Jacob Hice had his girlfriend Alissa Barr put an illegal narcotic in boxes of candy for him. Barr would give the candy boxes to Reosti, who would bring the candy to Hice at the jail.
Hice had a legal visit with Reosti on December 29th and was strip searched afterwards. Correctional Officers located a box of Milk Duds in Hice’s groin area and a box of Mike and Ikes in his socks, as well as 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 small lighter.
Investigators say jail lobby video showed Reosti coming into the facility with his pants pockets bulging from the candy boxes and holding the card. They say he did not have any 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 FDLE says the package labeled “Deadman Walking” contained Fluoro-AMB, a controlled synthetic substance with no current accepted medical use in the United States.
Investigators say on December 27th, Barr had 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.
23-year old Alissa Barr of Shalimar and 29-year old Jacob Hice are also facing charges of possession of a controlled substance and smuggling contraband into a detention facility.
###
