North Dakota Man Who Killed His Friend While Being Under the Influence of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms, Learns His Fate

A Stanley, North Dakota, man who pleaded guilty to the murder of a friend while under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison after a hearing in North Central District Court on July 24.

Malcolm Anthony Mayors, 33, Stanley, entered an Alford Plea to the Class AA felony murder charge in March. In an Alford Plea, a defendant maintains innocence while admitting prosecutors likely have enough evidence to secure a conviction at trial.

District Judge Gary Lee sentenced Mayors to serve 20 years with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Five years of the sentence was suspended pending his successful completion of five years of supervised probation upon release. Mayors was given credit for 427 days already served and assessed $125 in court fines and fees.

According to court documents, Mayors reported to officers at the bond lobby of the Mountrail County Correctional Center shortly after midnight on May 24, 2024, that he believed he had killed the victim. Mayors informed an officer he had eaten some "shrooms" around 6 or 7 p.m. that evening but had difficulty getting back to reality.

Mayors said he called his friend over to play virtual reality video games. Mayors indicated he wasn't sure exactly what had happened. He said he shot his friend with a .40-caliber pistol but didn't know if it was real or not. He then left the residence to report the incident after he couldn't locate his phone.

Mayors was detained while the incident was investigated by Stanley Police and Mountrail County Sheriff's deputies. The deceased victim was located in Mayors' residence with two gunshot wounds.