A San Diego County man admitted he enlisted his two children in a conspiracy to grow and distribute hallucinogenic mushrooms and fed his children psilocybin capsules daily, authorities said.
Randal Vance, 43, worked with his wife and a friend to grow and distribute psilocybin mushrooms from two locations in north San Diego County, Vance admitted as part of a plea deal announced Friday by the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of California.
While executing a search warrant in October 2024, law enforcement officers found 257 pounds of mushrooms and 18 pounds of growing material at a location in Fallbrook, as well as 25 pounds of mushrooms, 5 pounds of psilocybin capsules and six firearms at a location in Bonsall.
Vance also admitted that he began feeding his 9- and 11-year-old sons psilocybin capsules every other day starting around October 2023 and every day by 2024. Vance was arrested in October 2024 following the execution of the search warrant.
“Psilocybin mushrooms are a controlled substance,” according to the attorney’s office, “that act as hallucinogenic drugs, inducing altered states of consciousness and vivid sensory experiences.”
As part of his operation, Vance maintained two websites and an Instagram account to market the mushrooms and provided mushrooms to his older son to sell to friends, he admitted.
Following his arrest, Vance and his co-conspirators destroyed evidence by deleting phone messages and taking down the two websites, the plea agreement says.
Before his arrest, Vance was out on bond pending state charges. His two co-defendents, wife Rebecca Vance, 42, and friend Keir Ceballos-Rivera, 34, previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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