United States Attorney John McKay announced that on August 13, 2003,
ROBERT W. McPHERSON, date of birth, August 18, 1946, and his wife
MARGARET M. McPHERSON, date of birth December 24, 1954, both of Amanda
Park, Grays Harbor County, Washington, entered guilty pleas in Tacoma to
charges related to their February 20, 2003, indictment for growing
hallucinogenic mushrooms and selling mushroom spores over the internet.
Both defendants entered their guilty pleas before United States
Magistrate Judge Karen Strombom.
According to court records, the investigation of ROBERT McPHERSON was
started in 1999 when law enforcement agencies around the country
received calls from concerned parents whose children had received
packages from a company called Psylocybe Fanaticus, operated by ROBERT
McPHERSON. Those packages contained syringes with mushroom spores, and
instructions on how to grow hallucinogenic mushrooms. McPHERSON operated
a website to promote the sale of the hallucinogenic mushroom spores. The
website also provided a first-person description of the mental
disorientation and physical sickness that results from eating
hallucinogenic mushrooms. On February 18, 2003, federal agents searched
the residence of ROBERT and MARGARET McPHERSON in Amanda Park, and
seized mushrooms containing psilocin, a controlled substance.
ROBERT McPHERSON pleaded guilty to the felony offense of
manufacturing (growing) mushrooms containing psilocin. MARGARET
McPHERSON pleaded guilty to possession of psilocin, a Class A
Misdemeanor.
According to court documents filed as part of the guilty pleas,
ROBERT McPHERSON acknowledged that he knew that the mushrooms in his
house were hallucinogenic mushrooms, containing an illegal controlled
substance. He also admitted that he sold mushroom spores that were
intended to grow into hallucinogenic mushrooms.
MARGARET McPHERSON admitted in court documents that she assisted her
husband in raising the mushrooms, and that she knew the mushrooms
contained an illegal controlled substance.
Court records reflect that as part of their guilty pleas, ROBERT and
MARGARET McPHERSON agreed to forfeit property used to commit or to
facilitate the commission of the charged offenses, and property derived
from proceeds they obtained as the result of the offenses, including the
following:
- A residence and real property on North Shore Road, Amanda Park,
Washington.
- A residence and real property in Moclips, Washington.
- Real property on Lakeview Drive, Amanda Park, Washington.
- $78,286 in cash.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 31, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. before
United States District Judge Robert J. Bryan. ROBERT McPHERSON'S offense
carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine not to exceed
$1,000,000, a term of supervised release of five years, and a Special
Assessment of $100.
MARGARET McPHERSON'S offense carries a penalty of imprisonment for
not more than one year, a fine not to exceed $200,000, a period of
supervised release of one year, a period of probation of up to five
years, and a Special Assessment of $25.
The investigation was a joint effort of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, the National Park Service, and the United States Postal
Inspection Service.
For further information, please contact John Hartingh, Executive
Assistant United States Attorney, at (206) 553-4110, or Douglas Whalley,
Assistant United States Attorney, at (206) 553-4882; or Ye-Ting Woo,
Assistant United States Attorney, at (206) 553-2268.
