With music blasting from a radio, officers from the Weldon Police Department and Halifax County Sheriff’s Office appeared to be taking it easy.

This sign says the house is under police control.

They were really sitting on a potential nuisance at 209 Ransome Circle in the Scoco Park community of Weldon.

On the picnic table placed under a shelter were pieces of evidence: Two BB pistols, several digital scales, crack pipes, a false bottom carpet cleaner can, grinders, some cocaine and plastic baggies.

Chief Mark Macon said the house is called the Community House where there are cookouts and other gatherings for people in the community.

The house also has a seedy side, Macon and the officers sitting at the picnic table this morning said. There have been shooting calls, rapes, murders and drug dealing.

“We’ve been out here on several occasions,” Macon said. “No one will talk when law enforcement comes. They walk away. It’s an open air drug market.”

Establishing ownership has been difficult, the chief said, because it has been handed down through several heirs.

Captain James Avens of Weldon said the house has running water and power. Macon said the taxes have been paid. “No one has come forward to talk about the issue.”

Officers say the house has been a problem for years and today’s operation marks the start of trying to get something done about the structure, which sits on a yard with no grass. “This is a joint effort between local and state agencies,” Avens said. “We think they do it all day, sell drugs. That’s why I’m sitting here.”

Asked why the push was just beginning, Avens said, “Why not? I think the community is just getting tired of it. It’s the voice of the community that says, ‘Hey, we’re tired of this.’”

Says Macon, “There’s always a starting point for every thing.This is the first day we’ve come to sit out here. It’s something we’ve been aware of. It’s something we’ve been aware of for a long time. We just want to educate the community there’s been rapes, shootings and stabbings.”

The house at 209 Ransome Circle.

The house is also located within a school zone, Macon said.

State Alcohol Law Enforcement Agent Tim Parker said the agency is working on nuisance abatement. “We’re trying to find out who owns the property.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the police department at 252-536-3136 or Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.