Mushroom Clouded Judgment Leads to Felony Arrest  

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – A routine traffic stop in May led to a second degree felony arrest in August after lab results were received by the Crockett Police Department which indicated mushrooms seized in the May traffic stop possessed hallucinogenic qualities.

Forty-one year old Misty Dawn Wilcox, from Crockett, was taken into custody on Sunday, Aug. 20 and charged with possession of a controlled substance, penalty group two, in an amount greater than or equal to four grams but less than 400 grams.

According to an arrest affidavit, Wilcox was stopped on May 7 by CPD Officer Bray Walter after he observed the vehicle Wilcox was driving did not have a registration sticker.

The police document indicated when Walter approached the vehicle, he observed Wilcox appeared to be nervous and shaking.

“I knew Wilcox had a previous history of drug abuse, so I asked her to step out of the vehicle. Wilcox stepped out and I frisked her for weapons. I then asked if she would consent to a search of her vehicle. Wilcox gave consent and I began the search,” the affidavit stated.

The report indicated Walter had completed the majority of his search “… before coming to the driver side door. Wilcox informed me that she had a mushrooms in a cigarette pack in the driver door pocket. I located the pack of cigarettes and opened them. Inside were several mushrooms that were wrapped in tin foil.”

Wilcox expressed the mushrooms were “for her consumption” and she said she was going to use them for cooking purposes, the affidavit said.

“I decided to not make an arrest at that time but to send the mushrooms off to the lab so that they could be tested for the psychoactive compound psilocybin, the compound responsible for the hallucinogenic effects,” Walter stated in his report.

On Sunday, Aug. 20, Walter received an e-mail from the crime laboratory in Tyler which indicated the mushrooms submitted for analysis contained the hallucinogenic compound. As a result, Wilcox was apprehended and booked into the Houston County Jail on one count of possession of a controlled substance, penalty group two, in an amount greater than or equal to four grams but less than 400 grams.

She was also charged with several other Class C misdemeanors at the time of her arrest. The possession charge is considered a second degree penalty under Texas law.

According to Section 12.33 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than two years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”

Wilcox is being held at the Houston County Jail on a total of $16,383 in bonds and fines.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].