Theft report leads police to Sharon mushroom lab

By LAURE CIOFFI

VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU

SHARON, Pa. — The owner of a Meek Street house is accused of growing mass quantities of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Sharon Police Chief Mike Menster said officers stumbled upon the large growing operation accidentally when they showed up at the house at 1:10 a.m. Thursday after a tip that a stolen laptop computer was inside.

There was no stolen laptop, but they did find more than 100 Mason jars containing hallucinogenic mushrooms, he said.

The mushrooms are created with a mold spore and a base of bird seed, rice or corn, the chief said. Temperature and light also are factors.

They also found a bulletproof vest, the chief said.

Menster said this is the first time he can recall a hallucinogenic mushroom lab being found in the city.

“It’s very rare. Over the years we’ve caught people with the mushrooms, but never a lab,” he said.

Street value undetermined

Because it’s so rare, Menster said he could not put a street value on the mushrooms, which are eaten to produce a euphoric or hallucinogenic state.

Menster said it was first unclear what was found, and city police called a Pennsylvania State Police special unit, which includes two chemists, to help. They later determined there was no biohazard in the house.

Trent Tomkins, 21, owned and lived alone at 359 Meek St., the police chief said.

Tomkins is charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was placed in the Mercer County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Menster said the mushrooms inside the house were in all stages of growth, from spores to fully grown. They were seized by police.