Rochester, MN Man Hide Meth In Stuffed Animals, Jury Finds

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Rochester man has been convicted of federal drug and gun charges after investigators discovered methamphetamine hidden inside stuffed animals shipped from California to Minnesota.

A federal jury found Damien Duwjan Shade, 48, guilty this week of attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors said the verdict followed a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

According to trial evidence, investigators in March 2023 intercepted three suspicious FedEx packages addressed to fictitious recipients in Winona. A K9 alerted to the parcels, and agents obtained warrants to open them. Inside, they found stuffed animals cut open and filled with methamphetamine.

Investigators removed most of the drugs, replaced them with filler, and conducted a controlled delivery. Shade’s children’s mother picked up the packages, and Shade later arrived to collect them. At the scene, officers recovered the toys, drug packaging materials, and the repackaged meth.

Shade admitted during questioning that he had purchased meth in California and shipped it to Minnesota under fake names, prosecutors said.

“Stuffed animals are symbols of childhood, not vessels for poison,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement. “Turning a child’s toy into a cover for lethal drugs shows the lengths drug traffickers will go to peddle their poison. This verdict ensures there will be consequences.”

During a search of Shade’s home, investigators also recovered a loaded Comanche III .357 Magnum revolver, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a digital scale, dozens of plastic baggies, and what appeared to be a drug ledger. Shade has a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm in San Diego, making it illegal for him to own guns.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on September 24 before U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis. Shade will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Rochester police, Winona police, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, and the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team.