MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — City officials in Berkeley County’s seat are seeing the “dramatic results and positive impact” of the Drug House Ordinance.
Martinsburg Police Chief Maury Richards established the program in August 2016. This April, Richards reported that police calls for problems at known drug house locations had reduced by 91%. A more recent review shows that complaints of drug-selling activity have disappeared at the locations of drug ordinance cases.
“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
Richards recognized the cooperation of the majority of Martinsburg’s landlords in helping officers with the program.
“Nearly all of the landlords have been willing to work with us. Because most owners are doing a much better job screening tenants and monitoring the activity on their properties, we haven’t seen a revolving door where one drug dealer is kicked out and a new one takes his place. But unfortunately, a few still haven’t gotten the message. For the landlords who haven’t joined us yet, it’s time to get on board.”
Officers cleaned 35 known drug houses in the City of Martinsburg within the past year following in-depth police investigation.
“This police work has resulted in 60 arrests and the
recovery of 313 grams of heroin, 220 grams of crack cocaine, 1,361 grams of powder cocaine, 6 grams of
fentanyl, 67 grams of methamphetamine, 112 grams of marijuana and marijuana wax, and 40 grams of
bath salts. The estimated street value of the illegal drugs totals $756,730. Drug house-related police
seizures have included $20,379 in suspect drug-money, eight illegal firearms, and two vehicles.” -Martinsburg PD release
“Now we have to change the perception of the downtown,” said Martinsburg Mayor George Karos. “Martinsburg Police Department has done a fantastic job along with the drug task force. Once (drug activity) moves it seems to pop up somewhere else and I think MPD is certainly taking care of that and we just have to keep monitoring that problem.”
Richards added his department will continue efforts to cleanup city neighborhoods, improve the quality of life for residents and maximize their resources toward the fight against the drug epidemic.