Investigation Finds 2 Pounds of 'Pot' in Apartment Above Burned Liquor Store

Investigators searching for the cause of the fire that heavily damaged the Warren Avenue Liquor Mart in East Providence on Tuesday morning, Sept. 3, found more than a possible cause amid the inventory and the debris.

East Providence police with a search warrant found two pounds of marijuana in the second-floor apartment, according to wpri.com. 

A licensed caregiver lived in the apartment, police said. But the two pounds of pot in large glass jars was a bit more than the legally allowed amount of 2.5 ounces. 

Police took one person into custody.

The East Providence Bureau of Criminal Identification van sat outside the store and wrapped inside yellow tape for much of the afternoon along with a police SUV. Police and fire officials roamed the building.

The fire started on the east side of the building on the first floor and spread up into the second floor because of the "balloon construction" that allows fires to spread up the outside walls, said acting East Providence Fire Chief Oscar Elmasian.

Details of the damage and the cause were still being pulled together into the early evening.

The fire was reported around 10:52 am.

"It could have been a bad one," said Elmasian. 

But the quick response by firefighters to the two-alarm blaze quickly contained the fire to the first two floors although there was smoke damage on the third floor, Elmasian said.