Tornado-damaged business ransacked in Portage, 2 arrested

PORTAGE, MI — Two people were arrested for allegedly stealing items from a storm-damaged business, the Portage Department of Public Safety said.

About 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, Portage police responded to the 2000 block of West Centre Avenue for subjects entering a tornado-damaged business and possibly stealing items.

Police could not be reached for additional questions. The department did not disclose which business was the one that was looted. That block includes a strip mall that was decimated by the Tuesday, May 7 tornado, including a smoke shop, Pizza Hut, State Farm office, barbershop and more.

RELATED: Reported tornado tears apart strip mall as employees watch from inside

Powerful storms including at least one tornado whipped through Kalamazoo County on Tuesday, causing massive damage across Portage and beyond.

Officers found two people and confirmed they were in the building and were in possession of items taken from the business, Portage police said.

The business owner requested prosecution, police said.

One suspect, an 18-year-old Galesburg man, was arrested and taken to the Kalamazoo County Jail. The case was submitted to the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office and a charge has been authorized of breaking and entering of a building with intent to commit larceny.

The second suspect, a juvenile female from Kalamazoo, was turned over to her parents with charges being submitted to the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

The PDPS Police Division is planning extra patrols in areas of the city impacted by the recent storm.

For more on Tuesday’s tornadoes in Portage, click here.