GREENFIELD – Two Greenfield residents stand accused of growing psychedelic mushrooms in the home they share with a young child, police say.
Warrants have been issued for the arrests of Zachary Titara, 24, and Alison Schweitzer, 23, both of 468 Brookstone Drive, Greenfield; police say the couple grew and dealt drugs out of a home in a subdivision on the city’s east side.
Police say they found an elaborate mushroom-growing operation in the couple’s home earlier this week. Prosecutors filed criminal charges against them Thursday, and warrants to arrest each were pending at press time, records show.
Several 911 calls about dogs running from a home and into the street in the 400 block of Brookstone Drive in Greenfield drew police officers’ attention to the area Sunday, officials said. While checking homes nearby, police spotted the door of a home standing wide open. They checked the residence to make sure no one had broken in, they said.
No one was inside the house, but officers quickly spotted what they believed was a marijuana growing operation, according to a press release. A search warrant was obtained, and detectives were called to the scene.
Officers say they quickly discovered mushrooms, not marijuana, was being grown inside the home, according to a press release.
Psilocybin mushrooms are a Schedule 1 controlled substance. When used, they produce the same hallucinatory effects as LSD, police said.
Officers also found inside the residence several tablets, which tested positive for ecstasy, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia, a news release states.
Detectives believe Titara and Schweitzer intended to sell the mushrooms they were growing. Both suspects have been charged with dealing drugs, court records show.
Because they share their home with a toddler, Titara and Schweitzer have also been accused of child neglect, court records show.
Together, they face 16 criminal charges, records show.
The felony charges Titara and Schweitzer each face are: one Level 2 felony count of dealing a Schedule 1 controlled substance; one Level 6 felony count of dealing a Schedule 1 controlled substance; one Level 6 felony count of maintaining a common nuisance; one Level 6 felony count of neglect of a dependent.
They each also face misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, records show.