MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Martinsburg Police Department has announced they have shut down another drug house.
Martinsburg Police Chief Maury Richards appeared before a magistrate and got an order of abatement for a multi-unit apartment building at 207 North Raleigh Street.
On Sunday, police responded to the site for a trespassing complaint. Several people were found inside. Officers located 16 bags of heroin for sale and distribution in the apartment.
John Laurin, 22, was arrested on a charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin. The property has been visited by police frequently, with 39 calls for police service in the past year.
“This building is a mess. How can a responsible landlord sit back and see 39 calls-for-police-service to his building in a year and not lift a finger to fix it?,” Chief Richards said. “A problem building like this is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We will be demanding that Mr. Jones present a plan to the court on how he intends to clean up his property.”
The landlord, identified as Jayson Jones of Inwood, will appear before a municipal judge on June 10 to show evidence that he has complied with the Chief Magistrate’s order to clean up the property’s drug problem.
The Sunday arrest is one of several dozen thanks to the City of Martinsburg’s Drug House Ordinance.
“Under the provisions of the Drug House Ordinance, property owners are subject to fines if they fail to take appropriate action to abate the problem after 30 days of notification. The Order of Abatement announced today contains compliance stipulations including: evicting the problem tenants, other actions to prevent the recurrence of illegal drug activity, and mandating criminal background checks on future tenants to insure they are “free from convictions for prostitution; illegal gambling; illegal possession, storage, or delivery of or trafficking in controlled substances, or other illegal drug activity.”
— Martinsburg PD
Huntington, Parkersburg, Clarksburg and Fairmont have similar drug house ordinances.