Shawn Michael Foster
Introduction
Shawn Michael Foster is a 45-year-old Ocean Beach man who pleaded not guilty to transporting controlled substances to a minor and to two firearms-related charges, after police said psilocybin “magic mushroom” gummies were handed out to trick-or-treaters at the San Diego home where he lives on Halloween night. At least 15 children — some of them toddlers — picked up the packages before parents intervened, and a subsequent search of the property allegedly uncovered crystal methamphetamine, cannabis, drug-sale ledgers and illegally possessed firearms. Foster, who had already denied the gummies were his before his arrest, is due back in court on November 17 .
Background Information
The case centers on a green house on the 2100 block of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach, a property Foster himself described to a TV station before his arrest as the house everyone thinks is “like the witch house or the dead house or the scary house or something” . When NBC 7 San Diego visited the home on the Monday after Halloween, a man who identified himself as Shawn Barger disputed the parents’ account, saying his wife had been confused when strangers came to the door and confronted her about the packages — an account that shifted after the Wednesday-morning search warrant and the arrests.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged; presumption of innocence. Foster has been charged and has pleaded not guilty; the accusations have not been tested in court, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
On Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, 2026, children between the ages of 1 and 6 retrieved packages from a bowl left on the home’s front porch. Local parents Frank Cary and Cameron Hunter, walking a few yards behind their children, noticed the unusual packaging — a colorful “Caps R Us” bag printed with a giraffe and what looked like melting text, listing a five-gram dosage and the words “psilocybin mushrooms” — and took the packages away from the children before contacting police . “My 2-year-old went up and grabbed one and started walking away with it in his hand,” Cary told NBC 7 San Diego . The parents turned the packages over for evaluation, and testing confirmed they contained psilocybin .
On Wednesday, November 4, detectives served a search warrant at the property as part of what police described as an ongoing narcotics and child-endangerment investigation, entering around 11 a.m. . The search allegedly uncovered more than 2.5 pounds of cannabis, more than 25 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a working digital scale, packaging materials and drug-sale ledgers, along with an illegally possessed rifle, a partially assembled pistol and dozens of live rounds of ammunition — and a bag of psilocybin gummies identical to those distributed on Halloween . Foster and Michael Goff, 80, were arrested that morning and booked into San Diego County Jail; at booking, Foster faced suspicion of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and no drug-related charges had yet been filed .
On Friday, November 6, Foster pleaded not guilty in court to transporting controlled substances to a minor and two firearms-related charges; a judge ordered that his face not be shown, and he was released on supervised bail with orders to avoid minors, stay within San Diego County and refrain from drugs and drug paraphernalia . He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted . Goff faces a felony firearm-possession charge and has yet to be arraigned .
Public Reaction and Consequences
Foster’s daughter, Devilyn Foster, defended him to cameras both outside the courtroom and in interviews, telling NBC 7 she believes specific neighbors “have it out for him” over the property’s spooky reputation and telling KGTV, “He definitely did not put it out there. I know that he didn’t put it out there” — adding that her father had always warned her against using drugs . The parents involved told reporters they regretted that the encounter happened at all; Cary’s account of pulling the package from his 2-year-old’s hand became the story’s defining quote, carried in outlets from San Diego to international coverage . Before the arrests, the homeowners’ pre-arrest denials — including Foster’s complaint that the gummies cost about “$300 worth” and that he would not spend that “to make myself look bad” — circulated widely as the police investigation remained open .
Current Status
As of the fetched reporting, Foster’s case is pending in San Diego: he has pleaded not guilty, is on supervised release under court-ordered conditions, and returns to court November 17 . The search-seizure evidence — the methamphetamine, the ledgers, the firearms and the identical gummy bag — remains what prosecutors are working from, the narcotics and child-endangerment investigation is ongoing , and no trial date has been reported. Goff, arrested the same morning, has not yet been arraigned, and nothing in the fetched reporting indicates additional arrests .
Impact on Their Career/Life
Halloween depends on a truce between neighbors — porch lights on, strangers’ houses treated as safe. The allegation that a bowl of psychedelic gummies sat where candy is expected, at a house already known on the block as the “witch house,” broke that trust at a scale San Diego police measured in the number of children involved, and the case will now be argued in court through the details parents documented: the packaging photos, the dosage labels, the positive tests. For Foster personally, a prior-felony firearms case layered with the controlled-substances-to-a-minor charge puts years of prison exposure on the table, and his supervised-release condition to avoid minors will govern his daily life long before a jury hears the evidence .
Sources
- New York Post, “Daughter claims ‘witch house’ feud behind dad’s arrest in Halloween mushroom gummy case,” November 7, 2026 — source
- New York Post, “Cops find guns and drugs in SoCal beach house linked to mushroom gummies given to kids on Halloween,” November 5, 2026 — source
- NBC 7 San Diego, “2 arrested after children obtain mushroom gummies on Halloween in Ocean Beach,” November 2026 — source
- KGTV 10News, “OB man accused of handing out mushroom gummies on Halloween pleads not guilty,” November 2026 — source
- The Independent, “Two arrested after mushroom gummies are handed out to kids on Halloween,” November 2026 — source