WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — The Grand Rapids Police Department could get to keep the more than a million dollars in cash that it found during a drug bust earlier this month.

The GRPD Vice Unit says it seized more than a kilo (about 2.5 pounds) of cocaine, vehicles related to alleged drug trafficking, an illegally possessed gun and nearly $1.2 million in cash when it raided Antonio Cruz’s home on Sept. 3.

“The law allows police agencies to seize certain types of property from those drug deals,” Kent County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Daniel O’Hara said. “We only deal with the drug side of forfeitures.”

It’s called civil asset forfeiture. Under Michigan’s rules, a seizing agency can keep and sell all items related to drug cases after a suspect has been convicted both criminally and civilly of his or her crimes. That means if Cruz is found guilty of the drug charges against him, Grand Rapids police get to not only keep and auction off the cars related to his alleged trafficking, but also the cash.

“The seizing agency then takes those assets, they sell them at auction per the statute and then they’re able to retain the proceeds to further police activities,” O’Hara said. “They use it for training. They use it to pay officers’ overtime. They use it for new equipment.”

A photo provided by the Grand Rapids Police Department shows drugs and money confiscated during a Sept. 3, 2024, search.
A photo provided by the Grand Rapids Police Department shows drugs and money confiscated during a Sept. 3, 2024, search.

If a defendant is acquitted, they get their assets back.

While Cruz’s home is in Wyoming, GRPD has the prevailing claim on the assets because it conducted the bust.

O’Hara could not talk about the specifics of Cruz’s case, but he did tell News 8 that forfeitures are common in Kent County. But the dollar amount in this one is remarkable.

“Most of our forfeiture cases are somewhere in the $1,000 to $10,000 range. That’s the vast majority of them,” O’Hara said. “We’ve had a few of them in the $100,000 range. This most recent case with $1.2 million is probably the biggest one that I’ve dealt with in my tenure in the office.”

Cruz was in court Wednesday for a hearing, waiving some of his administrative rights. He is expected back in court next month for a preliminary hearing. Similar drug cases can take about a year to go before a jury.