Uber driver sells mushrooms, LSD to cops during narcotics conference, investigators say

WALTON COUNTY, Florida (WDHN) — A Crestview man is facing several felony drug charges after Florida narcotics investigators claimed he tried to sell them mushrooms and LSD while undercover at a conference.

In August 2023, narcotics detectives with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office attended the Florida Narcotics Officers’ Association Annual Conference in Miramar Beach, and one night, they called for an Uber to take them to dinner.

According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the Uber driver, 52-year-old John Alcott, smelled like Marijuana, and when the detectives began talking with Alcott in the car, he offered to sell them Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as “magic mushrooms” and opened his glove compartment revealing a large bag of the hallucinogenic.

WCSO spokesperson Corey Dobrina said in a press release the next day that detectives and VICE investigators from Walton County went undercover and bought 134 grams of Psilocybin mushrooms, 10 Psilocybin mushroom capsules, and 12 doses of LSD for $1,000.

Dobrina said detectives from the CCSO and the WCSO kept in contact with Alcott over the next few months, and in February 2024, they, along with Crestview Police and deputies with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Ofice, organized a meet-up to buy more than a quarter pound of mushrooms and 200 doses of LSD for $5,000.

According to Dobrina. while en route to the sting, Alcott was pulled over and arrested on warrants stemming from the first undercover buy in August, and after a K9 searched his car, detectives found the other hallucinogenics meant for the second sale.

Alcott was charged with two counts of selling a hallucinogen (mushrooms and LSD), trafficking in LSD, possession of a hallucinogen with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of using a two-way communication device in the commission of a felony. He was booked and released from the Walton County Jail on a $15,000 bond.

“While these types of cases aren’t the primary focus of our VICE/Narcotics investigations, this one kind of came to us,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson. “He obviously makes it a habit to sell while driving an Uber, and that’s pretty alarming considering how teenagers and young adults frequently use driving services in the area.

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