LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Attorney General says 12 people will be charged in connection to a string of break-ins at cannabis dispensaries throughout Michigan last year.
In May 2022, Battle Creek officials told FOX 17 officers received word a group of young people — aged in their late teens to early 20s — tried to bust open a safe by throwing it off a roof.
The suspects were subsequently arrested, and large amounts of cannabis were recovered, as well as a stolen car, several guns and other drugs, the city said.
READ MORE: 11 arrested in Battle Creek after police seize marijuana products stolen from local dispensaries
The state tells us investigators have since learned 20 dispensaries were broken in to at the time.
Thursday, the attorney general’s office announced it will charge most of the suspects with safe breaking, conducting a criminal enterprise and breaking & entering with intentions of theft.
The safe breaking charge is a felony punishable by life in prison, according to the state of Michigan.
“This is an unfortunate example of why Congress must pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act,” says Attorney General Dana Nessel. “Without access to traditional banking the cannabis industry is left as a ripe target for criminals. Any legal business should have fair access to our banking institutions for the security of their own business and employees as well as public safety.”
Nessel’s office says two more suspects were arrested in an unrelated case for allegedly trying to steal from a Bay County dispensary last March. That case is being handled by the Bay County Prosecutor’s Office.
