Federal Jury Convicts Man Who Shipped Meth in Stuffed Toys

Sep 29

A Rochester man who hid methamphetamine inside stuffed animals was convicted earlier this week in federal court.

The jury found 48-year-old Damien Duwjan Shade guilty of attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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In March 2023, Rochester police were called to the FedEx facility at the Rochester Airport after employees reported three suspicious packages shipped from San Diego, Calif., to addresses in Winona. The sender was listed as “Trayvon Strange” and the boxes were addressed to people who did not live at the addresses. Homeland Security Investigations and Rochester police arranged for a K9 search of the packages, and the dog alerted to drugs. A search warrant revealed six pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside stuffed animals.

Investigators removed nearly all of the methamphetamine, replaced it with rock salt and filler material, and installed tracking devices before delivering the boxes. Authorities said the mother of Shade’s children accepted the deliveries, and Shade later arrived to pick them up. Officers moved in after he opened the packages. Inside the home, they found the stuffed animals cut open with the filler and small amounts of methamphetamine that had been left inside for the controlled delivery.

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Shade admitted to investigators that he bought methamphetamine in California and mailed it to Minnesota using fake names. He told officers he concealed the drugs inside toys and acknowledged that he had a gun at his apartment.

During a search of his home, investigators found the third package from the controlled delivery unopened, along with a loaded .357 Magnum revolver, more than 400 rounds of ammunition, a digital scale, dozens of baggies, and what appeared to be a drug ledger. Shade was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a 2013 conviction in California for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Sept. 24, 2025, the jury found Shade guilty on both counts after a two day jury trial. He will be sentenced at a later date and faces up to life in prison. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Rochester Police Department, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Winona Police Department and the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Team.

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