Shawn Michael Foster, 45, and Michael Goff, 80, were booked into San Diego County Jail after a police raid on their Ocean Beach home uncovered firearms, methamphetamine and a fresh supply of the same psilocybin gummies they allegedly handed to trick-or-treaters.
San Diego police executed the search warrant at the green house on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard around 11 a.m. As part of an ongoing narcotics and child endangerment investigation. The seizure included more than 2.5 pounds of cannabis, more than 25 grams of crystal methamphetamine, at least two firearms, and a bag of psilocybin gummies matching those given out during Halloween.
Foster was charged with felony possession of a firearm and ammunition, while Goff faces a single felony firearms charge. Both men remained in custody following the raid.
The confrontation that sparked the investigation came two days earlier, on Halloween night, when Cameron Hunter and his friend Frank Carey took their children trick-or-treating in the beachside neighborhood. After returning home, the fathers discovered iridescent bags in their kids’ candy collections containing gummies laced with psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in psychedelic mushrooms.
One package held roughly 5 grams of psilocybin, a dose potent enough to induce severe nausea and hallucinations in an adult — and potentially dangerous for a small child. The packaging, labeled “Caps R Us,” featured a colorful giraffe design and tropical flavoring that Carey said looked indistinguishable from ordinary boutique candy.
Carey described the moment he intercepted the treat in an interview San Diego.
“My 2-year-old went up and grabbed one and started walking away with it in his hand,” Carey said. “I noticed the picture had a giraffe and words that looked like they were melting. I took it out of his hand and saw that there was a dosage on the front of it. Five grams, [then I] flipped it around and read ‘psilocybin mushrooms.'”
Outraged, Hunter and Carey returned to the source house and recorded their exchange with a woman holding an open bowl. The footage captured their disbelief as she played dumb about the contents.
“These all have drugs in them,” one parent says to the woman.
“I didn’t realize they were bad, I don’t know,” she replies.
“They’re psilocybin mushrooms,” one of the men fires back, “like, [they’re] kids.”
The candy package contained 10 portions of 500mg psilocybin gummies — enough, the parents noted, to seriously harm multiple children. Carey emphasized the deceptive design that nearly fooled him.
“The candy packaging resembled bespoke candy, so it was very similar to something you’d buy at a candy store,” Carey said.
Foster, who spoke to reporters before his arrest, acknowledged the house’s local notoriety but denied distributing the drugs. He floated an alternative theory about the home’s reputation.
“I don’t know, everyone thinks it’s like the witch house or the dead house or the scary house or something,” Foster said.
He also claimed the gummies were too costly to waste on pranks or malice.
“I looked it up and they’re like 20 bucks a piece. It’s probably like $300 worth of gummies. I don’t have $300 to, like, spend to make myself look bad, you know what I mean. It’s ridiculous,” Foster said.
Both fathers expressed regret over ever approaching the property, though their actions directly led to the police report that prompted the warrant. San Diego Police Lt. Cesar Jimenez had initially cautioned that laboratory testing would be required to confirm the gummies contained controlled substances before charges could be filed — a step now apparently completed given the arrests and search.
Jimenez praised Hunter and Carey for their vigilance, specifically noting that accompanying their children, inspecting the candy, confronting the residents, and contacting authorities represented exactly the right response.
California law treats furnishing controlled substances to minors as a serious felony, carrying potential prison sentences and permanent criminal records for offenders. The Halloween incident in Ocean Beach now sits at the center of a broader probe that could expand beyond the current firearms and narcotics charges.
The two fathers have not indicated whether they plan civil action, and police have not announced additional suspects.