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Kalamazoo Twp store condemned after illegal marijuana-grow operation

Posted at 11:53 PM, Nov 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-02 23:53:43-04

KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police say the owner of a store in Kalamazoo Township is not a suspect, but his building’s been condemned for allegedly being converted into an illegal marijuana-grow operation.

The Southwest Enforcement Team says in a news release its East Team detectives and officers from the Kalamazoo Township Police Department and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant and raided the facility Thursday on E. Main Street near Nazareth Road.

Detectives say they confiscated marijuana plants along with the materials required to grow it. They say officers discovered that the electrical power and natural-gas supply had been modified to accommodate the indoor grow. At that point, the Kalamazoo Township Fire Marshall and the Zoning Ordinance officer were summoned to the scene.  Police say the fire marshall determined there was a significant fire risk and healthy-and-safety risk to other businesses and customers in the building.

SWET says Kalamazoo Township officials condemned the retail space and issued a No Trespass order. The  investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, township leaders are working with the building owner to bring the building back into zoning compliance. They say he was not aware of the modifications that his tenant allegedly made to the electric and natural-gas systems.