Mushroom bust largest ever

Waynesboro police Wednesday seized hundreds of psychedelic mushrooms, contained in Mason jars, from an apartment bedroom.

It was the largest seizure of psychedelic mushrooms in city history.

Police say Felix Christopher Gutierrez, 31, of Waynesboro, grew and distributed the drugs from his apartment on the 1700 block of New Hope Road.

Waynesboro police and members of a joint local drug task force seized 107 Mason jars, each containing several psychedelic mushrooms.

In addition, police found material in the New Hope Road bedroom used to grow the mushrooms, including pots and soil, thermostats, vents and scales.

Waynesboro police Sgt. Brian Edwards said it appears the apartment served as “a significant growing and manufacturing’’ location for the mushrooms.

It is not clear where the mushrooms were being distributed, Edwards said. The policeman said he could not estimate a street value.

The seized material will be sent to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science in Roanoke for both an analysis and a weight, according to Edwards.

The investigation developed quickly after police received a tip of possible drug activity at the location.

Gutierrez was charged with possession of a Schedule I controlled substance with intent to distribute. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.

Gutierrez is being held in the Middle River Regional Jail in Verona. He faces up to 41 years in prison if convicted of both charges.

Psychedelic mushrooms are a known hallucinogenic that can produce intense distortions of reality, causing users to see images, hear sounds and feel sensations that seem real but are not, according to the National Institutes of Health. The effects can last for hours.