Police are investigating after a “large quantity” of marijuana was discovered in an Ypsilanti warehouse following a fire.
Crystal Campbell of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office verified the discovery of an unreported amount of marijuana in a warehouse at 1853 and 1854 Cadillac Avenue in Ypsilanti Township. There are no state records of marijuana licenses at those addresses.
According to Capt. Scott Gehringer of the Ypsilanti Township Fire Department, drivers on I-94 called emergency services around 10 p.m. on April 29 to report seeing a fire near the interstate. The fire damaged the majority of the building.
Fire Marshal Steve Wallgren stated “salvageable evidence” was discovered in the structure, but he did not disclose any other information.
“We did find things that triggered us to get the county involved for the contents inside the building,” Wallgren stated.
Campbell did not specify how much marijuana was discovered or if it was in processed or plant form.
The cause of the fire is being investigated and will most likely stay unknown due to the extensive damage, according to Wallgren.
The property’s owner did not respond to requests for comment.
The revelation comes on the heels of rising tensions between local law officers and Ypsilanti Township after more than 600 pounds of illegal marijuana were destroyed in 2025 with no prosecutions filed.
That marijuana was discovered in May 2025 in a trailer at 2490 E. Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti Township. According to a report from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, firefighters discovered the trailer contained more than 600 pounds of processed marijuana as well as a butane hash oil lab used to extract THC from marijuana products.
An attorney first told officers that the agency does not pursue marijuana charges, so the marijuana was collected and burned in May 2025, according to the report. According to township attorney Doug Winters, despite evidence of an illegal grow operation, the prosecutor’s office failed to approve the charges.
Later, when the marijuana had been destroyed, a prosecutor cited a lack of evidence as the reason they could not charge, Winters explained. It was unclear from the report whether the sheriff’s office disclosed the amount of cannabis with the attorney who first stated that the office would not approve charges.
Township officials, including Winters, criticized the incident and raised alarm about the most recent fire.
The lack of prosecution is unjust to licensed sellers, he claims.
“I think right now that the word is out in Washtenaw County that you can pretty much do what you want to do when it comes to growing and selling marijuana,” Winters stated. “There’s no consequences for violating the law.”
According to a policy posted online, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office will not charge some marijuana crimes, such as use and possession, storage, and small-scale distribution.
The guideline states that prosecutors will approve charges against some large-scale distributors based on the amount of cannabis and the magnitude of the business.
The office previously stated that there was insufficient evidence to link a person to the 600 pounds of marijuana.
Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit previously stated that he did not know “precisely what was conveyed” by the sheriff’s office to the original attorney regarding the amount of marijuana.
“I will say that it should be common sense that 600 pounds of marijuana qualifies as ‘large scale,’ and further that a fire implicates the safety and well-being of others,”
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