DRUG SUSPECT'S MOM BANNED FROM HOME

60-day Eviction Allowed Under Nuisance Statute

Applying a statute often used to warn property owners against allowing
public nuisances to continue on their premises, local authorities last week
boarded up a Columbia house that became known for drug abuse.

The court-ordered action resulted in a 60-day prohibition against the
homeowner or anyone else from using or accessing 18 Fourth Ave. It also put
Dorothy Allen, 59, on the street in the wheelchair she has used since
suffering a stroke. For the time being, her lawyer said, Allen is staying
with a family member. A son's actions placed Allen in jeopardy of being
evicted from her home. The son, Wayne D. Allen, 25, awaits prosecution in
Boone County on a charge of felony drug possession. He also is being
detained in the Miller County Jail on other charges.

Since May 2000, Columbia police have searched Dorothy Allen's home three
times for evidence of narcotics activity, hitting their target each time.

In June 2000 and May 2001, police Sgt. Zim Schwartze sent letters to Allen
advising her that drugs had been found in her home during a court-ordered
search. Each letter also warned that the county prosecutor is empowered by
state law to file a lawsuit that could oust her from the home for up to a
year. They also included invitations to call Schwartze and an
encouragement: "I believe that together we can slow the sale of illegal
drugs and improve the quality of life for the citizens living in the
neighborhood."

Dan Viets, a lawyer for Allen, contends officials have unconstitutionally
deprived Allen of her property.

"She attempted to prevent the use of her home as a place where illegal
drugs were kept or sold," Viets wrote in a motion to the court. But her
"medical and physical conditions make it impossible for her to absolutely
prevent others from using her home for drug use or sale."

"I think the law was intended for landlords who rent premises to people who
use them illegally," Viets told the Tribune. "She's being punished for what
other people did."

Landlords, however, typically respond to caution letters by evicting tenants.

"That's the uniqueness of that one. It was owner-occupied," Sgt. Bryan
Piester said of Allen's home. "Usually, when we serve a search warrant and
find narcotics, police and the prosecutor contact the landlord by letter.
Most of the time the landlord takes the proper action.

"We kept getting complaints and complaints and serving search warrants and
finding lots of dope, and it came down to taking them into court," Piester
said.

"This wasn't some Draconian measure on the part of law enforcement," Boone
County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane said. "The issue was, we notified
her after the first search warrant. She had conversations with police to
try to make sure the problem could be resolved, short of this measure. And
we waited. And there were more drugs."

Court records show that Allen's 1½-story, four-bedroom house has drawn a
lot of police and citizen attention. A police affidavit in April 2000
states that CrimeStoppers tips in March reported crack cocaine sales at the
house and named Wayne Allen and two other suspects. A cooperating citizen
went to the house and allegedly bought crack for police on April 14, 2000.
When police searched on May 5, 2000, they found three plastic bags of
crack, a bag of marijuana, a cigar stuffed with marijuana and $1,500 in
cash. None of the drugs was said to belong to Wayne Allen, though he was
present.

Another police affidavit a year later said a tipster reported in October
2000 that they had seen "a constant flow of traffic in and out of the
residence of individuals buying narcotics." At the request of police,
another person bought cocaine at the house on April 23, 2001.

An April 27, 2001, search turned up more evidence, including several rocks
of crack and a "leafy green substance." Police arrested Wayne Allen after
finding crack in the room his mother identified as his. He was released
after posting bond.

By last September, a police affidavit said officers had been investigating
"numerous complaints about narcotics sales taking place" at 18 Fourth Ave.
CrimeStoppers calls on Sept. 7 and 8 reported constant traffic to and from
the house. After another report of suspicious activity and a Sept. 15
report that people "in the yard were smoking marijuana and crack," an
officer went to the house and spoke with Wayne Allen and two others.

"All three have extensive involvement in the drug trade in Columbia, and
all have arrests for narcotics violations," Detective Doug Parsons wrote
later in an affidavit. A Sept. 21 search by police resulted in the seizure
of substances believed to be cocaine and marijuana, along with a loaded
six-round .38-caliber revolver.

When Wayne Allen lived in the house, he and other men often gathered in the
small front yard around a picnic table they moved over the public sidewalk,
just around the corner from the playground of an elementary school.

Viets said none of the controlled substances belonged to Dorothy Allen.

"I'll grant you that she's not some evil human being," Crane said. "The
problem is this: It's an owner-occupied residence where drug activity was
an ongoing and continuous occurrence."

After a hearing in May, Associate Circuit Judge Jodie Asel ruled July 29
that Dorothy Allen "either consented to the activity or failed to exercise
reasonable care to prevent the activity which constitutes the nuisance."

Asel granted an injunction that bars use of the property for 60 days,
though Crane had asked for a yearlong ban. Police boarded up windows and
doors to the home on Tuesday.

John MacFarland, president of the Ridgeway Neighborhood Association,
praised police enforcement in the area. "It's terrific. We do need more
than that."

At the same time, McFarland said, because the homeowner uses a wheelchair,
"it's awful hard to feel triumphant."