MONROE - Three men face felony charges of using a rental house in New Glarus during the past seven months for a major growing operation of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms.
Brandon K. Satterstrom, 26, and David Raymond Warner, 23, both of Madison, and William Tyler Wilson, 19, New Glarus, were charged Thursday, June 21 in Green County Circuit Court.
The criminal complaints allege they operated out of a house in the 1100 block of 7th Street. They're facing additional penalties since the home stands within 1000 feet of a city-owned park, Candy Cane Park.
Each faces a Class E felony charge of manufacturing and delivering psilocin (the chemical compound in psilocybin mushrooms), a Class F felony charge of possessing psilocin with the intent to deliver, a Class I felony charge of maintaining a drug-trafficking place and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.
According to police reports filed with the complaints:
The owner of the house became suspicious after she and her son stopped by to do some routine maintenance and found it almost bare of furniture, even though the men had ostensibly moved in Nov. 1.
The refrigerator contained only a jug of milk and a bag of syringes filled with clear liquid, later determined to be mushroom spores. The knob on the basement door had been changed, and there was a sign on the door to keep out.
The son reported their suspicions of drug activity to the New Glarus Police Department on June 10.
Later the same day, police did a sweep of the home with a search warrant and discovered a vast mushroom-growing operation in the basement. Officers seized more than 1,000 Mason jars, 97 syringes, 67 plastic growing bins, an electric dehydrator and about 700 pounds of mushroom substrate.
Also seized in the raid were about 2,500 grams, or five and a half pounds, of psilocybin mushrooms.
Sgt. Jeff Sturdevant said the popularity of the drug is growing and that police are working with the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) on the case. Police are still working to determine the street value of the seized mushrooms, he said.
Judge James Beer is assigned all three defendants' cases, according to online court records.
Wilson made an initial appearance in court Thursday. His cash bond was set at $10,000. He has a bail hearing scheduled Monday, June 25, and a preliminary hearing Friday, June 29.
Warner also appeared in court Thursday and posted a $7,500 cash bond, with his father co-signing on a $2,500 signature bond. Warner's preliminary hearing is set for July 29.
Brandon K. Satterstrom, 26, and David Raymond Warner, 23, both of Madison, and William Tyler Wilson, 19, New Glarus, were charged Thursday, June 21 in Green County Circuit Court.
The criminal complaints allege they operated out of a house in the 1100 block of 7th Street. They're facing additional penalties since the home stands within 1000 feet of a city-owned park, Candy Cane Park.
Each faces a Class E felony charge of manufacturing and delivering psilocin (the chemical compound in psilocybin mushrooms), a Class F felony charge of possessing psilocin with the intent to deliver, a Class I felony charge of maintaining a drug-trafficking place and a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.
According to police reports filed with the complaints:
The owner of the house became suspicious after she and her son stopped by to do some routine maintenance and found it almost bare of furniture, even though the men had ostensibly moved in Nov. 1.
The refrigerator contained only a jug of milk and a bag of syringes filled with clear liquid, later determined to be mushroom spores. The knob on the basement door had been changed, and there was a sign on the door to keep out.
The son reported their suspicions of drug activity to the New Glarus Police Department on June 10.
Later the same day, police did a sweep of the home with a search warrant and discovered a vast mushroom-growing operation in the basement. Officers seized more than 1,000 Mason jars, 97 syringes, 67 plastic growing bins, an electric dehydrator and about 700 pounds of mushroom substrate.
Also seized in the raid were about 2,500 grams, or five and a half pounds, of psilocybin mushrooms.
Sgt. Jeff Sturdevant said the popularity of the drug is growing and that police are working with the State Line Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) on the case. Police are still working to determine the street value of the seized mushrooms, he said.
Judge James Beer is assigned all three defendants' cases, according to online court records.
Wilson made an initial appearance in court Thursday. His cash bond was set at $10,000. He has a bail hearing scheduled Monday, June 25, and a preliminary hearing Friday, June 29.
Warner also appeared in court Thursday and posted a $7,500 cash bond, with his father co-signing on a $2,500 signature bond. Warner's preliminary hearing is set for July 29.