DETROIT – A mother and her two sons were arrested Wednesday in connection with a fake GoFundMe account set up for slain Detroit police Sgt. Kenneth Steil.
Police said when they got to the home on Detroit's east side to make the arrests for the fake GoFundMe account, they discovered a marijuana grow operation.
Officers in full SWAT gear, armed with rifles, filled the block, caught neighbors by surprise.
"I was scared," Toi Humphrey said. "I was about to run back into the house."
But nobody was as shocked as the two brothers who were handcuffed by police.
Police said they once they got to the house, they noticed the marijuana operation was much bigger than the GoFundMe scheme that brought them to the residence.
Police removed the countless plants, enough to fill an entire truck. Sources told Local 4 that 4,000 grams of marijuana with an estimated value of more than $43,000 were recovered.
The two brothers were arrested -- one for the GoFundMe account and the other for the marijuana.
"No, no, respect our privacy, we really don't want you here," one brother said when asked for comment.
But investigators said the brothers didn't care about the fallen officer's family or its privacy.
"I'd describe it as a deplorable act of greed and selfishness," an official said.
The brothers' father, and owner of the home, David Kelly, offered an explanation.
"(The account was set up) to get money and he was going to give it to the family of the deceased," Kelly said.
"He had no authorization to do that, nor was the family aware," DPD Commander Elvin Barren said.
Officers recovered several weapons from the home.
When the brothers' mother returned home, police said she tried to run over officers with her grey Ford Focus.
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