BRINGING DOWN A DRUG HOUSE CAN BE A SLOW PROCESS

A Big Island businessman has been trying for nearly nine months to rid his Puna
neighborhood of a suspected drug house.

"Martin" - who asked that the Tribune - Herald not print his real name for fear
of retaliation - said he's watched drug dealing in the house next door for
nearly a year.

In January, Martin started logging all the comings and goings of cars he
believes are driven by drug dealers picking up cocaine or methamphetamine from
a distributor to sell on the streets. The day - by - day, hour - by - hour log
- - which contains more than 150 license plate numbers - measures a foot high.

Martin also has two discs of digital photographs and has begun videotaping the
neighbors' activities with a surveillance camera with audio that picks up their
conversations. "They talk about their drug deals," Martin said. "They talk
about people who get arrested. They talk about us."

Martin has shared his information with the Hawaii County Police Department and
the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, but the drug dealer remains in
business. "He's still next door," Martin said. "He's still selling drugs. The
same creepy people are still coming and going."

He said the DEA went to the house once but found nothing.

"One night this gal carried in a laundry basket," Martin said. "It was full of
sandwich bags full of white substance from the bottom to the top."

Martin immediately called the DEA again. "Nothing happened. That's happened
time and time again," he said. "It's so frustrating to go through all this and
still wonder when we go home every night if someone's going to kill us."

Hawaii County Police Capt. Sam Thomas said he's aware of complaints that it
takes a long time before a drug house is shut down. Some people grumble that
they see police searching for marijuana in helicopters and yet when they report
a crystal methamphetamine, or ice, house, they see no sign that police are
doing anything to shut it down.

"The difference is, for ice you're not going to see us if we're doing our job
properly," Thomas said. "The person who calls shouldn't see us doing
surveillance."

Thomas said citizens who suspect an ice house in their neighborhood should do
something similar to what Martin's doing.

The first step is to call the ice hot line at 934 - VICE (934 - 8423) or Crime
Stoppers at 935 - 8300.

Both will give the caller a coded number; the caller can elect to remain
anonymous. With the coded number, the caller can call back and check on the
progress of the case or provide additional information.

Suspicious activities at a home include unusual amounts of traffic and short
visits, Thomas said.

In neighborhoods where houses are close together, neighbors might be able to
overhear conversations. Some words that could indicate drug dealing include
"ice," "batu," "da kine" and "papers," Thomas said.

He suggests that neighbors "surreptitiously" log license plate numbers and
report them to the police.

Once police are alerted to a suspected drug house, the case will be assigned to
an officer for investigation.

Thomas recommends that people call police more than once. "If they're not
satisfied with the results they're getting, they should go further up the
chain," he said. "The community should expect that their reports should be
investigated and that somebody will do something."

The officer should do physical surveillance of the house and check the
background of its residents.

During the investigation, police try to develop probable cause to obtain a
search warrant, "usually through the use of confidential informants," Thomas
said. He was reluctant to give any more details of the probable cause
investigation for fear of tipping off the drug dealers.

"Their investigation may prove that this has no drug connection," Thomas said.
"That has happened a few times."

If police do turn up enough evidence for probable cause, they go to a judge for
a search warrant and then raid the house.

If police find drugs and the occupants are home, officers arrest them and take
them to the police station. "They'll be interviewed to tell their side of the
story," Thomas said.

After consultation with the county prosecutor's office, police decide if they
have enough evidence to charge a suspect.

Some cases go to federal prosecutors instead. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron
Johnson said the federal government has jurisdiction over any drug offense -
not just cases involving large quantities. For example, Johnson oversees
"Project Safe Neighborhoods," which promotes federal prosecution of simple drug
users or low - level dealers caught with guns.

Federal prosecution is swifter and usually leads to stiffer penalties with no
possibility of parole.

Martin said he's determined to keep the pressure on until his neighborhood drug
house is shut down. Other people in his neighborhood tell him they don't want
to get involved because they're afraid, he said.

"People are going to have to quit complaining, quit saying, 'The cops aren't
doing anything,' and do something themselves, start getting involved in the
suspicious activity that's going on around them," Martin said.

"They're doing drugs; they're not selling Girl Scout cookies."