Published: October 02, 2009 08:19 pm      

Man indicted on ‘magic mushrooms’ charge

A West Virginia man was indicted Thursday on a charge of first-degree trafficking in controlled substances for allegedly attempting to ship “magic mushrooms” from Richmond back to his home state.

Steve M. Cahill, 48, of Princeton, W.Va., could face five to 10 years in prison if convicted on the charge. Cahill is accused of attempting to ship two bags of psilocybin mushrooms to an address in Bluefield, W.Va., from the UPS Store in Richmond on July 20.

The return address on the package was a Princeton, W.Va. address, the same one listed on Cahill’s driver’s license from West Virginia, said Kentucky State Police Detective Dusty Hon, who testified at Cahill’s preliminary hearing in Madison District Court.

Hon said on Sept. 9 that a UPS manager in Lexington contacted police about the package the day after it was shipped.

Hon testified that an employee at the Richmond store had told police the package had a strange odor. The employee said the man who shipped the package claimed it contained candy and cookies, but the box was not the correct size for those items.

A police canine alerted on the box during a “package lineup” police conducted at the UPS shipping facility in Lexington, and the box was found to contain two bags of mushrooms weighing 118 grams each.

When police questioned Cahill about the package, Cahill told Hon, “You’ve got the right man,” but declined to answer other questions before requesting an attorney.

Cahill, who is free on bond, is represented by Richmond attorney Wes Browne.



Forgery indictment

The grand jury returned a forgery indictment against a Richmond woman for allegedly signing another woman’s name to three credit card receipts without permission.

Christina Denny, no age listed, of the 300 block of Brooks Road, faces three counts of second-degree forgery and two misdemeanor theft by unlawful taking charges.

Denny is accused of forging another woman’s name on three credit card receipts on July 29, one at a Redi Mart and two at a Dairy Mart.

The charges totaled $276.17, leading to one of the misdemeanor theft charges. The other charge accuses Denny of taking less than $500 worth of property from another woman.

If convicted, Denny could receive up to five years in prison on each of the forgery charges and up to 12 months in jail on each of the theft charges.



Other indictments

• William Allen, 29, of Nicholasville, and Gregory Strange, 35, of the 1000 block of Merrick Drive, Richmond, on one count each of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

If convicted, each could receive five to 10 years in prison.

• Patrick Luppens, no age or address listed, on one count of flagrant non-support and a second-degree persistent felony offender charge.

If convicted, Luppens could receive up to five years in prison on the non-support charge and five to 10 years for the persistent offender charge.

An indictment is a formal statement of charges and does not imply guilt.



Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694.