Former user of storage unit containing child porn released from jail as investigation continues
The 53-year-old Ypsilanti Township man who was the previous user of a storage unit where child pornography was found Saturday was released from jail Thursday as the investigation continues.
Ypsilanti police Detective Sgt. Thomas Eberts said the man was released without being arraigned for more followup investigation. No warrant has been approved for the man to this point.
“We have some forensic analysis we have to do on recovered evidence,” Eberts said in a text message.
The man was identified by police after a Southfield couple purchased the National Storage Center, 521 Tyler Road, unit in a “Storage Wars”-style auction on Saturday. The unit was being auctioned off because the Ypsilanti Township man was delinquent on his payments.
After the couple purchased the unit, they found evidence of child pornography in the storage unit in a small room that was concealed from the rest of the unit.
One of the people who bought the unit allegedly threw away much of the child pornography and notified National Storage Center employees of what he found. Employees called police, who eventually tracked the couple to Southfield and searched their home.
Tyreek Wilkerson, 30, faces charges of possession of child sexually abusive material and lying to police during an investigation. He’s out of jail on bond and returns to court Aug. 1 for a preliminary exam.
According to police, delivery/manufacture of child pornography charges will be sought against the 53-year-old Ypsilanti Township man.
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
Hugh Giariola
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 2:39 p.m.
Sure, release this guy from jail so he can erase or hide any other potential evidence against him.
RunsWithScissors
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:49 p.m.
For anyone who needs to connect the dots (like I did): Tyreek Wilkerson & his fiance are the couple who won the auction for the storage unit. He's the man who threw away most of the evidence.
Fat Bill
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 10:46 a.m.
A big question here is how hidden was the area where the evidence was located? Is it conceivable that the items were there before the latest tenant moved in? Like others have said, police and prosecutors will have to establish a stronger link before they go to trial here.
smh
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 3:17 a.m.
this is just not right... i live in the same area as the 52 yr old that was arrested and released... my heart dropped when i came home tonight and seen him riding his bike down the street.. and to the person that said someone could of broke in and put the stuff in there... umm theres no way possible... not only do they give you a good pad lock to put on there but they also put a lock on there themselfs along with the other lock so theres no way someone cold of broke in there..
treetowncartel
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 3:27 p.m.
@smh, what side of the township are you in? I have two daughters I would be worried about too.
johnnya2
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 4:18 a.m.
Oh really>? So how did the people who bought it get in the locker? If there is NO WAY anybody could have gotten in it, then how did new owners get int here without the "owner" of the property there? Could the porn belong to the new owners? Maybe somebody at the storage unit put it there? Maybe somebody bidding on it put it there. Of course YOU know all the facts and as most people who do not believe in INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY somehow has come up with what you think you know,
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:24 a.m.
I am a father and a grandfather. I don't understand what sort of demons haunt people who find children sexually provocative. But in my opinion there is no cure and its unacceptable. I think society needs a one strike policy to protect our children from second offenders.
brian
Thu, Jul 25, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
Just sick.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:16 a.m.
I agree
justcurious
Thu, Jul 25, 2013 : 9:26 p.m.
I don't get it. He was the owner of the stuff and the lessee of the unit and they let him go without charging him? Why would they do that?
johnnya2
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 4:13 a.m.
@ Justcurious, Interesting, then how in the hell did they auction the stuff off? If you and your husband did not pay the bill., I do not care what kind of lock you have on it, they can and will get in it to clear it out. The police will need to prove that he POSSESSED the porn at some point. When the porn was found there had been other people who had access to his unit including the ones who bought it AND the people at the storage center.
smh
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 3:20 a.m.
try coming home tonight and seeing this 52 yr old that was released riding his bike down the street... my kids will not be going outside... and i hope the little girl that was staying at his place is no longer there... i cant believe that they let him out...
justcurious
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 3:10 a.m.
Paul, we recently rented a storage locker from National Storage on Jackson Rd. for 3 months to store furniture we were buying for a vacation home. They sold us an amazing padlock which could not be removed with the heaviest of bolt cutters which we kept after removing our items. They encourage everyone to use that padlock and we had a special code to use when entering the gates and leaving the gates. I think that surmising that someone could have broken in and used his unit doesn't fly.
Paul
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:53 a.m.
Well he lost control of the unit-it was out of his control for weeks. Who else could had used it--who knows. If your going to store something illegal, maybe you would B&E into somebody else's unit and figure nobody will notice and if so, it could not be link to U Police need something, finger prints, maybe hair DNA on the photos to prove he and not somebody else put those pictures in the unit.
dogman
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:48 a.m.
Thanks, Kyle. Guess you can't tell the pervs without a program!
Kyle Feldscher
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:28 a.m.
Dogman- The unidentifed man and Wilkerson are two different people. Wilkerson is the person who bought the unit and was charged. The 53-year-old man is the previous user of the unit who is the alleged owner of the child porn. Wilkerson has a bond and charges, the other man does not.
dogman
Fri, Jul 26, 2013 : 12:02 a.m.
From the linked previous article: Charges are pending against a 53-year-old Ypsilanti Township man who owned the child pornography found by a Southfield couple Saturday after they won an auction for a Ypsilanti storage unit, according to police. Wilkerson was arraigned Tuesday on charges of possession of child pornography and lying during a police investigation, Detective Sgt. Thomas Eberts said. He posted a 10 percent of $10,000 bond and will return to court for a preliminary exam at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 1. 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.
dogman
Thu, Jul 25, 2013 : 11:52 p.m.
He must have been charged with something. He's got a bond and a scheduled preliminary exam. He was released without being arraigned. Something's missing in the article.