Battle Creek Police arrested 11 young men and recovered a large amount of marijuana products, several guns, other narcotics, and a stolen car after a joint investigation with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
At about 7:15 a.m. Thursday, BCPD officers responded to a home in the first block of East Avenue South, for a report of people throwing a safe off the roof, trying to break it open. Police arrived to find 10 young men at the scene, ranging in age from late teens to early 20s.
When police arrived, several of them ran, but police caught them quickly. An investigation showed evidence of breaking and entering, and identified a location in the 700 block of Wagner Drive where related criminal activities were happening. They arrested an 11th young man at the Wagner location.
Investigators found suspected stolen property at both the East Avenue and Wagner locations. These incidents are connected to multiple marijuana dispensary burglaries in the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo areas, as well as several other locations in southern Michigan.
Police placed 10 of the suspects in the Calhoun County Jail; they placed one in the Calhoun County Juvenile Home.
The BCPD will submit a request to the Calhoun County Prosecutor’s Office for charges of receiving and concealing stolen property, resisting and obstructing an officer, and possession of narcotics.
The BCPD thanks the following departments for their help and collaboration: Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Emmett Township Department of Public Safety, Michigan State Police, and Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety.
Police expect to identify additional communities and victims, and bring forward additional charges, as this investigation continues.