'Burn in hell': Pastor and son accused of dealing weed and mushrooms from church

A North Carolina pastor and his son have been charged with dealing drugs out of a church, according to a report.

Josh Price, 50, a pastor at South Side Baptist Church in Lexington, was arrested along with his son Matthew Price, 28, after deputies allegedly seized about 12 pounds of marijuana, nearly 32 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 41 THC vape pens, 20 marijuana plants, and about 2 pounds of THX wax at the church, reported WBTV-TV.

“I really hope they burn in Hell,” one neighbor said. “I’m a Christian -- that is so, so wrong. It’s wrong. It’s wrong anywhere, but especially in God’s house.”

The pastor and his son were charged with manufacturing marijuana, trafficking marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver THC wax, three counts of felony maintaining a dwelling, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and conspiracy to traffic marijuana.

Law enforcement officers were tipped off to the operation by someone living in the fellowship hall behind the church, which Josh Hall said had been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but former members said it had been closed even longer.

Former member Mike Lambeth said he was suspicious of Price when he first came to the church three years ago.

“I met him one time and our spirits didn’t bear witness at all and I did not think he was a pastor," Lambeth said, "and I told a lot of the members there, ‘Y’all better watch out for him.'"