A Greene County deputy arrested a Blythewood, South Carolina, man on Feb. 27 for trafficking in psilocybin mushrooms, which are classified as a Schedule I controlled substance.
The suspect, Darrian Marquis Schofield, 28, was also cited for alteration of a license plate.
According to reports, Lt. Patrick Paquette observed a silver BMW traveling eastbound on I-20 with a license plate obscured by a tinted cover. Paquette conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle near milepost 132 for the tag-cover violation.
According to the report, Paquette approached the vehicle on the passenger side and immediately smelled the overwhelming odor of marijuana coming from within the car.
Paquette asked Schofield to step out of the vehicle, explained the reason for the traffic stop, and asked him how much marijuana was in the car.
Schofield admitted to having “a piece in the ashtray,” and Paquette told him he was going to conduct a search based on the presence and odor of marijuana.
During the search, Paquette located an ashtray that contained pieces of smoked marijuana blunts. In the trunk of the vehicle was a plastic cake carrier that included a round metal cake baking pan.
Concealed underneath the cake baking pan, Lt. Paquette located a zipper-style, smell-proof bag that contained a vacuum-sealed bag of what appeared to be psilocybin mushrooms, a clear plastic bag that contained marijuana, and a grinder that contained marijuana residue.
The total weight of the psilocybin mushrooms was later determined to be more than one ounce.
Lt. Paquette placed Schofield under arrest and transported him to the Morgan County Jail. The suspected psilocybin mushrooms were put into an evidence bag and sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab for testing.