EVICTING DRUG DEALERS FROM THE DOORSTEP

Police Find Added Anti-Crime Tool With Unusual, 10-year-old Law

The belongings of an evicted tenant are left in the yard of an Everett
house on Wednesday.

EVERETT -- It started out with strange cars circling the neighborhood and
driving up and down the alley.

Soon, people were being dropped off at the street corner and walking to a
neighbor's house. People came and went at all hours of the day from the
lower unit of the two-apartment house in the 2700 block of Leonard Drive,
said Jahn Johnson, a nearby resident.

It didn't take long before rumors about drug activity at the apartment
circulated among the neighbors. Folks didn't hesitate to call the police.

"We called a lot and the police were really good," Johnson said. "They were
(here) almost immediately."

Officers knew the house well. They'd made numerous arrests there for drugs,
assaults and even stolen cars, said Elliott Woodall, police spokesman.

Thanks to the efforts of the police department and the city attorney's
office, the landlord was able to evict the tenants in the lower apartment,
Woodall said.

Now, with help from assistant city attorney Laura Van Slyck, Everett police
are looking at several more homes with a documented history of illegal drug
activity, said Everett police Sgt. Butch Braley.

The program isn't exactly new, said Van Slyck, who learned more about it at
a conference she attended in October. The Seattle Police Department has a
similar program.

"We have the tools under state law," she said. "It just needed to be
implemented."

A 10-year-old state law allows any building or dwelling unit within a
building to be shut down when it is used for unlawful drug activity, Van
Slyck said.

Authorities have been trying for a while to come up with a solution to what
neighbors have been complaining about for years, Van Slyck said.

Here's how the law is applied in Everett, Braley said:

Patrol officers keep track of houses where lots of drug activity occurs.
Then they turn over their findings to Braley, who reviews the reports. If a
residence racks up five or more drug-related reports within a month, a note
is sent to the property owner that the property is considered a nuisance.
The property owner can work with police to resolve the matter or it will
end up in court.

Once in court, a judge can require a tenant to be evicted or order
abatement, which means stripping the owner's right to use the property for
up to one year.

So far, the latter ruling hasn't been handed down, Braley said. In each
case the property owner, often an absentee landlord, has been very
interested in working with police, he said.

Victor Haglund, an Everett attorney and landlord, said he's glad the police
are getting involved at this level. No landlord wants anything to do with
drug users and sellers, he said.

Often, landlords "know what's going on, but we may be stuck with a lease,"
Haglund said. "When we see that there's drug use, we want the police
department to step in."

That's what happened at the house on Leonard Drive. The owner handed over
power of attorney to her parents, who worked with police to solve the
problem, said Elliott Woodall, police spokesman. A judge ordered that the
tenant be evicted.

Everett residents who believe drug activity is going on at a house in their
neighborhood can call officer Steve Hardy at 425-257-8428. They should
leave a message including their name and phone number with area code.

"They have to be the eyes and ears and not let this happen in their
neighborhood," Braley said.