A drug conspiracy charge involving former University of Michigan standout Kelvin Keshawn Grady is linked to 13 pounds of marijuana found during a traffic stop earlier this week on M-6 near Byron Center Avenue in southern Kent County.
The man behind the wheel, 28-year-old Marquis Dante Turley, is charged with deliver/manufacture of between 5 and 45 kilograms of marijuana, a felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
Grady, 27, is listed in court records as a co-conspirator. Grady was arraigned Friday, March 24 in Grand Rapids District Court on a marijuana conspiracy charge. He is also charged with maintaining a drug house and possession of marijuana.
Grady, who is being held in the Kent County Jail, has a probable cause hearing set for April 6 in 61st District Court in Grand Rapids.
Turley’s case is being handled in 63rd District Court in Grand Rapids Township. He is free after posting a $100,000 bond.
The pair had been under investigation by the Kent Area Narcotics Enforcement Team. Drug officers and Kent County sheriff’s deputies stopped Turley’s vehicle on Tuesday. A police dog detected the presence of illegal drugs inside the vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A search of the vehicle turned up two five-gallon buckets inside a box in the trunk. The box had a shipping label from Las Vegas to Chicago addressed to a man believed to be Turley’s father, court records show.
Inside the two five-gallon buckets was more than 13 pounds of packaged marijuana. Police got a search warrant for Turley’s home on Ethel Avenue near Wealthy Street SE. They found nearly six ounces of marijuana, a digital scale, packaging and a five-gallon bucket with tape and glue similar to what was found in his vehicle, court records show.
A search warrant was also obtained for Grady’s home on Boston Street near Chamberlain Avenue SE. A small amount of marijuana was found, investigators said.
“During that search warrant, detectives located seven five-gallon buckets which also had similar tape and glue packaging that was found on the bucket at Turley’s apartment and inside his vehicle,’’ detective Dennis Pittman wrote in a probable cause affidavit. “Grady also had a food saver and more packaging used to seal marijuana in an airtight package.’’
Grady, a 2007 graduate from East Grand Rapids High School, attended U-M, where he played as a wide receiver for the Wolverines. His brother, Kevin Grady, also played for the U-M football team.
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