LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — Two men have been arrested after detectives discovered they attempted to smuggle drugs into the Leon County Detention Facility by sealing them to the back of a Hallmark Valentine's Day card.
Eric Kirby and Charles Lykes are being charged after investigators uncovered their scheme to smuggle prescription pills inside the Leon County Detention Facility.
According to court documents, a mailroom supervisor at the jail intercepted a Hallmark Valentine's Day card addressed to inmate Eric Kirby the morning of Feb. 27. During an inspection of the card, the supervisor discovered an orange substance painted on the card stick between the paper when normally cards are glued shut with a clear substance. Documents say the return address on the envelope was also fake.
Suspicious of the orange substance, a Leon County correctional officer tested the orange substance on the card which yielded a positive result for the presence of the "special opiate," Subuxone.
Documents say investigators began to listen to KIrby's phone calls and discovered that he had been speaking to Charles Lykes using two different numbers registered to two females. Based on their phone conversations, investigators determined that Lykes was released from jail on Feb. 15. and had been speaking with Kirby about how to smuggle drugs into the jail.
In one call, documents say Lykes told KIrby, "I got your letter, I'm going to send it tomorrow."
When the letter didn't arrive on Feb. 22, Kirby stated to Lykes, "Yeah it didn't come in today," to which Lykes responded, "Well, I sent another one today. If it didn't come today, then probably Monday and then this one I sent today will probably come, I don't know, Tuesday." The next two calls after the drugs were intercepted, the two continued to discuss why the card didn't get delivered.
When detectives spoke to Kirby about contraband being hidden inside of mail, he stated that Lykes was familiar with methods to conceal contraband.
"However, [Kirby] then became evasive, stating if his mail had contraband located inside of it, he did not necessarily request it to be sent to him," investigators wrote. "He then stated he thought it was possible an 'enemy' sent him contraband." Detectives were unable to get in contact with Lykes to interview him.
Based on the evidence, both men were charged with possession of controlled substance without prescription, introducing or possessing contraband in county detention facility, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
