COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Columbus shut down a drug house on the east side this week.
According to City Attorney Zach Klein's office, the Columbus Division of Police obtained and executed an order to board up the property located at 764 Brookside Drive off East Main Street.
According to court documents, Columbus police received about 20 calls for service to the property in the past year. The calls included assaults, drug activity, overdoses and the yard littered with trash and debris.
In July 2023, Klein's office said officers responded to the report of a death at the residence. An autopsy found the cause of death to be a drug overdose. The individual reportedly often came to the house to buy and use drugs.
Over the next two months, police responded to several complaints from neighbors reporting drug activity at the house, people in the residence without any electricity or running water and the yard littered with waste.
In October 2023, officers responded to the house for a reported assault and robbery at the house. The victim told police that as he was leaving, someone grabbed him from behind, dragged him to the ground and struck him several times in the face and stomach.
Officers responded to the house in February 2024 multiple times, including for an unresponsive person and arson.
Court documents say that the house was placarded by the city code enforcement, but people have been trespassing on the property in recent months.
“Public safety and the quality of life in all of our neighborhoods remain the top priorities of my office, and we will never hesitate to work with CPD, Code and the public to identify these dangerous properties and present a case to shut them down,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein. “Our friends and neighbors on the east side should not have to put up with this level of crime and drug activity, and I applaud the Court for siding with the City and shutting this property down.”
A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12.
