Wednesday, March 10, 2004
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Wednesday, March 10, 2004 |
| 3 busted for selling pot from daycare center By JOHN MUNFORD Three people who have been selling illegal drugs out of a rented home in the Wynnmeade subdivision — for quite some time, police say — were arrested by Peachtree City police early Friday morning. Neighbors said Tuesday that one of the arrested suspects operated a children’s daycare center out of the same home. The suspects were involved in “multiple sales,” said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. Arrested were Jesse Hardy Jr., 35, Viki Walker, 38 and Kierra Florence, 18, who all lived at the house police raided, according to court documents. All three were charged with one felony count each of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Hardy and Walker were granted $60,000 bonds and Florence a $20,000 bond, but they also had bond conditions set forbidding them to live in Peachtree City until the case is adjudicated. Wynnmeade is not the only area of the city where drug sales are taking place, Murray said, adding that more arrests are forthcoming from ongoing narcotics investigations. “We are going to root this out of our community like a bad piece of apple,” Murray said. Murray gave a large amount of credit to residents in Wynnmeade who have been cooperating with police on investigations. “Most of our cases start from good neighbors who are nosy,” Murray said. “Neighbors should be nosy. ... In this particular neighborhood we have good hard-working citizens who work with us. I think this is a positive thing.” The raid at 138 Wynnmeade Parkway took place early Friday morning with the department’s Special Response (SWAT) team because the people involved had histories of committing violent crimes and weapons were also involved, Murray said. Murray said he had pledged to the Wynnmeade Homeowners Association that the department would rid criminal activity from the neighborhood. Murray took the case so personally that for the second time in his career here, he testified in a bond hearing, urging the judge to deny bond for the three suspects. Murray said he also informed the owners of the home that police could seize the house because of the illegal drug activity that took place there. The owners of Omega Real Estate were cooperative, Murray added. Representatives of the company filed a court action to evict Walker, the listed tenant, from the property. Murray said the department would continue to investigate illegal drug activity. “All I want to say to drug dealers is if you’re selling you should look over your shoulder because we’re right there.” Murray confirmed the house at 138 Wynnmeade Parkway was just one of 10 owned by Omega Real Estate and that the people renting it received government assistance from a program called Section 8. The registered agent for Omega Real Estate is Allan Todd of Peachtree City, according to documents maintained by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Merrilyn Arnold, secretary for the homeowners association, said she was “overjoyed” about the raid although she hated that it would perpetuate the stigma the 30-year-old community has received. Arnold said landlords for rental properties have caused problems for the community. Particularly, they are not choosy about who lives in the homes, she added. “We always seem to be getting the wrong people,” Arnold said. She added that representatives of Omega have refused to return phone calls or meet with association members who want to share their concerns. One property owner controls 26 homes in the subdivision, which brings the rental numbers to around 30 percent, Arnold said. The association is working with the city on ways to get that number down, even though rental property is to be expected in the city’s older neighborhoods, Arnold said. Murray encourages landlords to request copies of police reports from the addresses where they own property. Although a small fee will be charged per page, that information can be valuable, Murray noted. In some cases, houses which purportedly have just one adult and two children have up to seven people living there, Murray said. “People who are renting houses ought to know what is going on there,” Murray said. Arnold said while Wynnmeade has its problems, things are starting to look up. “The community is working together,” Arnold said. “We are few in number but mighty in hope.”
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