By Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER

LYNCHBURG — A Lynchburg man called the Moore County Sheriff’s Department on early Thursday morning to report a burglary, and ended up in cuffs himself for allegedly running an illegal grow operation inside his Chestnut Ridge area home. According to local officials, 39 year-old Brandon Ross Masingille called into the Moore County Sheriff’s Department at 5:53 a.m. on March 28 to report a burglary of a cell phone at his home located at 172 Chigger Hill. When local deputies arrived on scene and entered the home to investigate, they spotted the grow setup, and then immediately secured a warrant to search the property.

In the subsequent search, local deputies discovered 47 grams of marijuana, 353 grams of Psilocybin mushrooms, grow lights, spore syringes, substrate soil, Petri dishes spores, seed pods, and other paraphernalia associated with grow operations resulting in Masingille’s arrest.

“Never seen this many mushrooms in one place.”

According to a Incident Report provided by the Moore County Sheriff’s Department, when MCSD Lieutenant Dustin White arrived on scene, the defendant invited him into his small, one-bedroom home to investigate. Once inside White noticed most of the space “was taken up by a pop-up grow house.” The defendant then accused two area men of breaking into the home and stealing his cell phone and debit cards as well as damaging the grow house and additionally stealing a grow light.

White then noticed a countertop dehydrator with “very large mushrooms” sitting on the tray as well as chemicals that he suspected were used for growing plants and inoculating mushrooms such as mycelium pods and syringes.

When the deputy asked the accused about the items, Masingille explained that he “micro dosed Psilocybin for his PTSD,” according to the report. “I know it’s illegal, please don’t take me to jail,” the suspect then said according to the report. At that point, the suspect was arrested and transported to the Moore County Jail by one deputy while another remained to secure the scene.

At that point local authorities requested a search warrant, which was immediately granted. According to the incident report, during the search, deputies found nine jars of mushrooms containing 238 grams inside a blue van, one bag marijuana containing 35 grams inside a blue van, one grow light, 127 Gabapentin, one jar marijuana containing 33 grams, one jar mushrooms containing 20 grams, one grinder, three spore syringes, seven test petri dishes, one jar mushrooms containing 11 grams, 16 grams marijuana bud, 24 grams mushrooms in bag, two grow lights, three light bulbs, one power box, bag of inoculation syringes, bag of seeds, three bags of soil, one grow light housing, one power supply, one grow light bulb, two jars mushrooms containing 60 grams, five jugs growing chemicals, 10 grow containers, two packs spores, one bag of 18 substrate pods, a PH test kit, digital scales, two packs of plastic bags, 19 growing bags, and one pop up grow room.

One local law enforcement official told The Times that in his over 20 year career in law enforcement that he’d never seen “this many mushrooms in one place.”

Held on a $50,000 bond

In the State of Tennessee, it is illegal to grow marijuana even if it is for a legitimate medical reason and is never sold. The only exception is for high-CBD, low-THC cannabis oils for those who suffer from seizures. In our state, marijuana is a Schedule VI drug and penalties vary based on the amount of drug involved.

Psilocybin mushrooms are also illegal in Tennessee except for very limited use in medical research. Mushrooms are considered a Schedule 1 drug in Tennessee along with heroin, LSD, mescaline, and peyote. Any manufacture, delivery, sale, or possession with intent of a Schedule I drug is a Class B felony. As such, it carries a sentence of eight to 12 years and a fine of up to $100,000. 

Gabapentin is an anti-seizure drug that is also used to relieve nerve pain. As of July 2018, possession of the Schedule V controlled substance without a prescription is a Class E felony.

Masingille was charged with three counts of manufacturing, selling, or delivering a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He is currently being held in the Moore County Jail under a $50,000 bond and is expected to appear in Moore County Circuit Court next Tuesday, April 2. The Times will give updates on the case as we have them. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally owned and locally operated community newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We offer common-sense, fact-driven local stories written by a Lynchburg native with over 20 years of journalism experience.  Click here to subscribe.}