COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein on Tuesday announced that the city obtained an emergency court order to board up a drug house in the Hilltop neighborhood.
“This is the first drug house we shut down in 2023, and it won’t be the last,” Klein said. “The City has made it our priority to take out drug houses and go after the criminals that make our neighborhoods less safe. One by one, we’re making our streets, neighborhoods and communities safer for children, families and every Columbus resident.”
According to Klein’s office, the house located at 70 South Harris Avenue was connected to several police runs and complaints related to drug trafficking, violence, shootings and a fentanyl-related overdose death of a 1-year-old child.
Court documents state that police were dispatched to the Hilltop property starting in 2021 for reports of a wanted felon on the property, domestic disputes, shootings and overdose.
On April 28, 2021, police responded to a reported shooting where Derek Ponder died and the suspected gunman, David Johnson, was charged with murder.
In February 2022, detectives executed a search warrant at the house and and recovered fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, firearms and magazines, ammunition and more than $1,800 in cash.
Later in the month, detectives notified the property owner of felony drug offenses. The owner filed an eviction of the then-current tenants.
In August, a 13-year-old boy was shot on the property. Reports indicate that Franklin County Children Services had recently removed a 10-year-old child from the home.
In November, police were notified of a 1-year-old boy overdosing and dying hours later at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Test results revealed that the infant was positive for fentanyl.
Johnson was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with his son’s overdose death.