MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Martinsburg Police started 2019 by shutting down three more drug houses under their Drug House Ordinance.
Chief Maury Richards announced Thursday he recently appeared before Martinsburg Chief Magistrate Ella Buckner to get Orders of Abatement for illegal drug activity at rental properties at 123 South High Street, 222 Surrey Court and 618 Virginia Avenue.
The owner of the Surrey Court residence has been identified as Jason Baker, the High Street was owned by Alex Hershaft of Bethesda, Maryland and 816 Virginia Avenue was a property of Harry Van Metre Junior.
Jessica Dancey, 27, and Jessica Nicholson, 22, were also arrested for charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, respectively.
All three will appear in front of Municipal Court Judge Dale Buck in February in compliance with Chief Richards’ Drug House Ordinance.
“This is another example of the world-class police work that is making Martinsburg a safer and better place to live,” Chief Richards said in a written statement to MetroNews affiliate WEPM. “The great teamwork between our Task Force, Special Response Team, Detectives, Canine Unit, Patrol Officers and community members really came together. The results speak for themselves – three more drug dealers have been locked up and three more drug houses have been shut down.”
The ordinance states:
“Under the provisions of the Drug House Ordinance, property owners are subject to fines if they fail to take appropriate action to abate the problem after 30 days of notification. The Order of Abatement announced today contains compliance stipulations including: evicting the problem tenants, other actions to prevent the recurrence of illegal drug activity, and mandating criminal background checks on future tenants to insure they are “free from convictions for prostitution; illegal gambling; illegal possession, storage, or delivery of or trafficking in controlled substances, or other illegal drug activity.” -Martinsburg PD
In West Virginia, Huntington, Parkersburg, Clarksburg and Fairmont have implemented drug house ordinances similar to Martinsburg’s.