There are a least four houses in the block the police will or should have on their list for the next activity in the Operation Summer Heat campaign, says Garrett, a landlord himself. “I’m here every day. You see blatant violations. People standing around, a lot of traffic.”
People in the house next to the one raided this morning moved out because of drug violations, he said. “There’s drive up traffic. People who don’t get along with what happens are targets of break-ins. If you find a good person they don’t stay that long.”
Garrett believes there is a simple solution to keeping drug dealers out of rental property. “A credit search, criminal search, will tell the truth.”
The property owner also believes if the city’s code enforcement came to the area the police wouldn’t have to. “Code enforcement needs to get down here,” he said, pointing out items he says are obvious violations.
Garrett said he gets ticketed for leaves while houses like the one where the bust occurred get no attention from the city.
He showed rrspin.com where there were no screens, shingles which have fallen off the roof, shrubbery not trimmed properly, leaves piled in the backyard and “rotting wood all the way around.” Access ways to under the house were not secure and Garrett said he didn’t believe the house had the proper amperage to power five window air conditioning units.
“The people are crazy with drugs,” said a man in the neighborhood who declined to give his name, but reports suspicious activity to the police regularly.
In at least two months, the house he lives in will be his and he plans to stay. “This could be a nice neighborhood,” he said, watching the nearby police activity.
He has been threatened once, standing up to a man with a gun who asked him if he was scared.
“The houses are really nice,” Garrett said. “There are a lot of Aladdin homes where people in other communities turn into the showplaces.”
Here, Garrett said, they are deteriorating.
Police were still booking people in today’s operation, Captain Andy Jackson of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said.
Drugs were found in the raid and officers found a gun and cash in a lockbox.
Community involvement is the key to improving neighborhoods like the 300 block of Madison, Jackson said, and this was one of the houses where people complained of drug activity. “We can’t do it by ourselves,” he said. “If people aren’t willing to step up to the plate, we’re outnumbered without the community’s help.”
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