2 in custody after child porn found in Ypsilanti storage unit
Two people are in custody as Ypsilanti police investigate child pornography reportedly found at a rented storage unit by a couple who won the contents at auction.
Ypsilanti police Detective Sgt. Thomas Eberts said police are investigating after the child sexually abusive material was found at the National Storage Center, 521 Tyler Road. Eberts said one man faces charges of possession of child sexually abusive material and lying to police officers during the course of the investigation.
Court records show that man is Tyreek Wilkerson, a 30-year-old man from Southfield.
Eberts said Wilkerson is not the main suspect in the case. He faces charges as the result of his actions following the discovery of the illegal material, Eberts said.
“He’s not the guy we really wanted,” Eberts said.
Shavon Henry, Wilkerson’s fiance, said she and Wilkerson won an auction for the storage unit last week and found disturbing items there, including a photos of young girls in lingerie and a bin of children's panties, Fox 2 reported.
Henry said she and Wilkerson didn’t immediately call police but alerted the storage center to what they found while throwing many of the items away, the television station reported.
Police later raided the couple’s Southfield home and seized material, Henry told the TV station.
Eberts said Wilkerson was arraigned on the charges Tuesday afternoon and received at 10 percent of $10,000 bond, which he has posted. His first hearing in the case will be a preliminary exam at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 1, Eberts said.
Wilkerson also had a detainer hold from another police agency in Wayne County, such as for an outstanding warrant, probation violation or parole violation, records show.
According to the Michigan Offender Tracking Information System, Wilkerson was discharged from state supervision in February. He has previous convictions for possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, possession of marijuana and attempted manufacture and delivery of marijuana, records show.
The identity of the other man in custody is not known at this point. More information on the case could be released later on Tuesday, Eberts said.
AnnArbor.com left a message seeking comment on the case with a spokesman from National Storage Center Tuesday afternoon. Attempts to reach Henry were not immediately successful Tuesday.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
mlvesx
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 6:56 p.m.
After reading this story and several others throughout the years, it seems that one really only has 2 choices and those choices depend on the situation. In this instance, the storage unit would of had to have been gone through thoroughly, before removing its contents, so police could be notified immediately. Since they had no idea as to what they would find, that idea is null... or to just keep your mouth shut and completely dispose of it. Many people have been unjustly charged with crimes involving child pornography... and from everything I have read, it really doesn't pay to open your mouth, should you accidentally come in possession of it. I do realize that this is the wrong way to think, but it becomes more or more evident through the years, that the justice system has lost its integrity, common sense and the value of what 'justice' really means.
newsboy
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 12:19 p.m.
Seems to me the crime scene is trashed! I would think it difficult to prosecute unless other items were found in a residence.
Concerned person
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 12:12 p.m.
My understanding is not reporting it immediatly is a crime. People have been charged and convicted for a single item found on the computer that was never opened and or deleted as soon as it was found. Perils of downloading anything off the internet.
Chase Ingersoll
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 1:08 a.m.
Kyle: Bad Storage Wars episode indeed. Did you notice under Wilkersons DOC profile: "...Marks, Scars & Tatoos: Other- Right Genitalia - MISSING R TES..."
Paul
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 12:41 a.m.
Are the children nude or just in lingerie ? Are they both now called porn by the law ? If so, what about kids in bikinis at the local swim clubs? I know, i know, its not right like to have pictures of kids with skimpy clothing but how did it all become child porn and why is it OK for kids to wear swim briefs or bikinis if pictures of them is called porn by the law ?
DwightSchrute
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 11:48 p.m.
A key question not addressed in the story: Did the couple have a clue of any contents they had won prior to the auction, or no?
nickcarraweigh
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
What "other man in custody"?
trespass
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 10:36 p.m.
If not reporting child pornography to the police is a crime, why wasn't it a crime when the University of Michigan refused to report child pornography at the hospital to their own police deparment?
PattyinYpsi
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 12:58 p.m.
@gyre: Yeah. That'll happen.
seldon
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 2:12 a.m.
That's not the crime they're charging him with, now is it?
Paul
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 12:36 a.m.
Too many people to pass the blame to. BTW, he is charged with lying to the police--maybe he should have just token the 5th and refused to say anything ?
grye
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 11:19 p.m.
I would say if this guy is convicted for not immediately reporting finding the evidence, then everyone involved at the U of M case needs to be prosecuted.
Eddie
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:57 p.m.
If you find a sack of cocaine, don't take it home unless you want to use it. Being stupid is no excuse for breaking the law.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:47 p.m.
Brad posted the link to Mr. Wilkerson's page on the Michigan Offender Tracking Information System website. I've added information from that profile into the story.
Brad
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:38 p.m.
http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=344163
Zhuk
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 5:41 p.m.
Missing right TES... I hope he did not make one of those promises hoping that whatever was in the storage locker would be worth more than they paid to win it at auction.
Chase Ingersoll
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 1:07 a.m.
Did you notice on the Corrections site under Marks, Scars & Tatoos: Other- Right Genitalia - MISSING R TES
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:46 p.m.
Brad, thanks for posting this. I must have spelled his name wrong when I searched OTIS earlier.
lisa
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:33 p.m.
I run a storage facility, and I have a rule here that if you purchase a repossessed unit that you can't use my dumpster and you have 24 hours to vacate the purchased unit. I guess if some one came in and told me that they found something like this in it, than of course I would let it stay in there and call the police. Maybe these people should have used their heads a little better and not have taken the stuff home, but than, if the guy was a wanted felon, or in such cases where people just need to get it out of the unit and may not look until they get home, maybe that would be something to think about. They should have reported it to the office and called the police from home as soon as it was discovered.
Stan Hyne
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 4:26 a.m.
Or not tell anybody !!!! looks like when the police were notified his trouble started.
Jay
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:33 p.m.
Never saw this in any Storage Wars episode.
ChelseaBob
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:44 p.m.
The guy was a parole violator. And they expected him to call the cops? He alerted the storage place, probably hoping the cops would catch the bad guy and leave him alone. Not to be. Maybe there's more to the story?
Nicholas Urfe
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
It would be interesting to know how much was paid for the storage unit, to get an idea how much was at risk in a prolonged investigation related seizure.
Linda Peck
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:32 p.m.
I read this a few times and still could not understand what happened here.
Nicholas Urfe
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:29 p.m.
But this isn't how it ever goes on those stupid storage TV shows.
Brad
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 8:02 p.m.
Yuuuuup!
SonnyDog09
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
"He faces charges as the result of his actions following the discovery of the illegal material, Eberts said." So, who from UMHS faced charges for their actions following the discovery of illegal material? That's right. Nobody. The laws are for little people to follow.
trespass
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 10:38 p.m.
@Sheldon- what UM did was worse than taking it home, they were going to let the pediatrician graduate without reporting him.
seldon
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 10:07 p.m.
As I recall, nobody from UMHS took the material home.
Bcar
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:29 p.m.
Thank you for posting what I was thinking!
MajorPaul
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:11 p.m.
I would advise all to read the linked story from Fox 2. It looks to me like the charges could be have resulted from : 1) The couple not immediately reporting the crime to police. 2) Destroying or removing evidence by allegedly throwing it away, which not only hampers an investigation but worse - not allowing the victims (the children) to be identified. 3) Taking home some of the evidence, whether by mistake or not. If I found this type of material, I would alert police right away and remove NOTHING. Then, after the investigation, I would claim my legitimate items. The couple made some very bad decisions here. I cannot feel sorry for either of them.
ThinkingOne
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 : 2:05 a.m.
I am not quite sure what it means when they say the buyer was released from 'state supervision' in February. Is that a fancy way of saying released from jail? Or finished with parole? Because I believe if someone is still on parole it would be very very easy to get a search warrant. And probably not that tough to get one for someone with a record that has only been released less than 6 months. And the possibility exists that they may have unlocked the storage area and taken a few tubs of 'junk' back home to start unpacking it there; then been caught off-guard with that stuff in their house. But again you can't really argue with the fact that it would have been much better had they stopped what they were doing immediately when it was found. I may have missed it, but did they even call the police themselves? I can only see where they reported it to the storage facility manager.
Solitude
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 9:07 p.m.
@justcurious, the article says the buyer's house was searched, which means a judge had to approve/issue a search warrant. There has to be something more than caution involved to get a search warrant. People don't get arrested for simply finding evidence of a crime, even if they don't initially know what to do with it when they find it. It's obvious there's more to this. Hopefully it will come out going forward and the situation will make more sense.
MajorPaul
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.
You have a good point, JC, and I share your criticism. However it does state that they found the evidence, removed what they saw and took the rest of the boxes home. Not a wise move, considering the likelihood that more evidence may exist that they overlooked. Find it - report it - walk away. That would have resulted in a much happier ending (although MR. Wilkerson would've still been hauled off to the sin bin for outstanding warrants).
justcurious
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
I don't see where it says they actually found it before taking it to their home. I would think that they wouldn't take the time to go through everything at the facility the day of the auction and actually there may be rules that say they can't and must remove everything immediately. I hate anything connected with child porn but I'm willing to give them the benefit of a valid doubt and think the authorities may just be being cautious.
justcurious
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.
Yes, this is very confusing in that they just purchased the contents, probably at an auction there. But they didn't immediately report it to the police and maybe that was the reason.
KMHall
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:24 p.m.
It says there was also "material" seized at their Southfield home.
grye
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 6:46 p.m.
This couple is being charged for having bought the contents of a storage unit?
grye
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
Failure to report a crime? Gee, I'd like to report all the lame excuses our federal government has come up with for wasting my federal tax dollars. So ignorance of criminal evidence procedures is not an excuse. Of course that is if the guy didn't put the stuff there after purchasing the contents of the unit.
lynel
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 10:43 p.m.
obviouscomment, I think you've hit on a great idea for a reality tv show!
obviouscomment
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 7:01 p.m.
@After Dark They don't usually "inventory" storage units. They crack it open and sell it as is and the buyer doesn't really know what's in it except for what they can see from the outside.
AfterDark
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 6:53 p.m.
I think the hard part would be proving what was in the unit at the time of the auction instead of introduced later, though it also seems the auction company should have inventoried it and found the items earlier.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 6:51 p.m.
Grye- To this point, Ms. Henry is not facing charges. Mr. Wilkerson is facing charges for allegedly lying to police and being in possession of the child sexually abusive material. It seems as if those charges could have been avoided had the couple reported finding the child pornography immediately upon discovering it.
Kyle Feldscher
Tue, Jul 23, 2013 : 6:35 p.m.
The Fox 2 story spells Mr. Wilkerson's name as Tyrique. The court records and online jail records had it as Tyreek, so I went with that instead.