A lawyer has found himself on the other side of the law, charged with bringing contraband into the Seminole County jail.
Lake Mary attorney Marlon Smikle, 29, was arrested Friday on a warrant for smuggling contraband into the jail.
According to the arrest report and warrant, on March 3 jail officers were alerted someone in the jail pod had a cell phone.
The inmates were searched but when 38-year old Donald Mitchell was instructed to lift his arms for inspection Mitchell “turned away slightly and lifted his left arm but kept his right upper-arm against his body.”
When asked again, he lifted his arm and gave a cell phone he’d been hiding to the officer.
Based on the phone’s records and call log, the phone is believed to be given to Mitchell by Smirkle, who is Mitchell’s attorney, during a meeting in the jail last month.
Upon further investigation, officers also found a phone charger that was “inside a sock that was located inside a laundry bag.”
A second charger, a Bluetooth device and a dollar bill also were found in the cell.
Investigators knew Smikle had an upcoming court appearance on March 13. A warrant was issued and they met him at the courthouse where he was arrested.
Smikle is currently out on $5,000 bond.
We reached out to the Florida Bar Association, who said they are looking into the case and it remains confidential – adding that Smikle is in good standing with no history of discipline.
The association added that attorneys do not need to report arrests for misdemeanors unless it’s a judgment of guilt, a guilty plea or a plea of no contest.