WALTON COUNTY — A Crestview Uber driver was arrested after the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said he tried to sell drugs to narcotics officers during a VICE Conference, sparking an investigation that resulted in other drug sales.

The incident occurred in August when Walton County held the Florida Narcotics Officers’ Association annual conference in Miramar Beach. While visiting the conference, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office members hailed an Uber to take them to dinner.

According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, the driver, John Alcott, 52, of Crestview, gave off the smell of marijuana, which the members of the Citrus County department noticed. The Sheriff’s Office said a conversation began during which Alcott told the passengers he had a bag of mushrooms for sale. This was confirmed when Alcott opened his glove box and revealed a “large bag” of mushrooms, according to authorities.

The detectives declined his offer.

After the investigators contacted Walton County narcotics investigators, a plan was made to make an undercover purchase the following day. During the undercover deal, Alcott sold investigators 134 grams of Psilocybin mushrooms, 10 Psilocybin mushroom capsules and 12 doses of LSD for $1,000, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Over the next seven months, detectives from Walton County and Citrus County remained in contact with Alcott and found his Uber service extended from Destin to Panama City Beach. Investigators told Alcott that they would be returning to Miramar Beach in late February and intended to buy more mushrooms and LSD, the Sheriff’s Office said.

On Wednesday, Walton County investigators told the undercover Citrus County detective to tell Alcott that they were in the area and intended to buy more than a quarter pound of mushrooms and 200 doses of LSD for $5,000.

With assistance from the Crestview Police Department and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Alcott’s residence in Crestview was under surveillance, and he was observed leaving his house to meet with the undercover detective. As Alcott neared the meeting location, he was pulled over by a WCSO deputy for a traffic stop and arrested on warrants issued after the August purchase.

A search by a WCSO K-9 officer resulted in the seizure of mushrooms and LSD, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Alcott was arrested and booked into the Walton County Jail on charges of selling a hallucinogen, trafficking LSD, possession of a hallucinogen with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and using a two-way communication device in the commission of a felony. He issued a $15,000 bond and was released on Thursday.

“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 in a news release. “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.”

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: WCSO: Crestview man sold drugs to detectives from VICE conference