Randal Vance – A 43-year-old man in San Diego County admitted feeding his two sons psilocybin capsules and helping run an operation to grow and distribute hallucinogenic mushrooms from two north-county locations. The guilty plea came as prosecutors announced details of the c
A San Diego County man admitted he enlisted his two children in what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to grow and distribute hallucinogenic mushrooms and, for months, fed them psilocybin capsules.
Randal Vance, 43, pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal announced Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of California. He said he worked with his wife and a friend to grow and distribute psilocybin mushrooms from two locations in north San Diego County.
During the execution of a search warrant in October 2024, law enforcement found 257 pounds of mushrooms and 18 pounds of growing material at a location in Fallbrook. At a second location in Bonsall, officers found 25 pounds of mushrooms, 5 pounds of psilocybin capsules, and six firearms.
Vance also admitted that he began feeding his 9- and 11-year-old sons psilocybin capsules every other day starting around October 2023, and then every day by 2024. He was arrested in October 2024 after the search warrant was carried out.
Prosecutors said psilocybin mushrooms are a controlled substance that act as hallucinogenic drugs, inducing altered states of consciousness and vivid sensory experiences.
As part of the operation, Vance maintained two websites and an Instagram account to market the mushrooms. He also admitted providing mushrooms to his older son to sell to friends.
The plea agreement says that after his arrest, Vance and his co-conspirators destroyed evidence by deleting phone messages and taking down the two websites.
Before the October 2024 arrest, Vance had been out on bond pending state charges. His co-defendants are his wife, Rebecca Vance, 42, and friend Keir Ceballos-Rivera, 34. Both previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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