The city of Columbus has issued an emergency condemnation order for 814 Wilson St. after a drug bust on Monday night.
Six people were arrested on a multitude of charges after Columbus police received reports of suspicious activity in the area, police said.
Code Enforcement Officer Fred Barnett talked with the Columbus Board of Works Tuesday asking for the condemnation order for the Wilson Street address approved.
“The tenant was in jail back in January, so the people that were there were squatters,” Barnett said. “I had two police officers with me and got permission from the property owner to go inside the house, so we did that, and it is deplorable.”
The emergency condemnation was based upon drug nuisance, common nuisance and public nuisance, Barnett said. He also said the apartment did not meet minimum housing standards.
The property owner is out of town for a couple weeks, but once he returns Barnett said he and the property owner “are going to have a harsh discussion about the structural integrity of the house, but right now I’m condemning this based off the drugs and just the living arrangements inside the house.”
In September of 2023, the same apartment was the subject of drug nuisance letter that Barnett had sent. The issue was resolved at the time, but after Monday night Barnett said he had to take “immediate action.”
The property owner was having a hard time getting the tenant evicted previously “because the tenant is never there when the drug activity happens, it’s when he’s in jail,” according to Barnett.
“This right here will give him the ability to actually evict this individual now, because it’s a second offense,” he said.
