The City of Columbus wants to board up an apartment complex it has identified as a “one-stop shop” for drug trafficking.
A series of searches and undercover purchases by Columbus Police revealed heroin, crack cocaine and other drugs on the premises. Assistant City Attorney Kristen Dickerson said the city started receiving complaints about the complex, located at 596-602 South Hague Ave., in June.
“When these properties become overrun like this and there are multiple units it really becomes a safety issue for everyone in the apartment complex and the surrounding community," Dickerson said.
She said most similar drug trafficking locations are rental units, which is why owners have a responsibility to watch their properties.
In this case, the owners were notified twice of the apartment’s activity and failed to address it.
"If there really is no owner prevention and screening and oversight and evictions and just no mechanisms in place where the owner is putting an effort to be responsible, once you lose a couple of those units in these situations it's almost like the entire apartment complex can be overrun," Dickerson said.
A preliminary injunction hearing will be held Monday.
