I think one of the apartments near mine is selling drugs. What to do?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m sure I’ll end up leaving out some important detail, so I’ll answer any questions for the sake of clarity. The apartment in question has its garage door facing my sliding glass back door. Almost everyone, ok I think everyone, around here keeps their garage door shut most of the time. These guys leave it open almost always. If the door is closed, it’s only for a few hours.

I theorized that the door was some sort of signal. This was reinforced when it was exactly halfway open (or closed) for a few short periods of time. The door works without flaw as far as I can tell, and they’ve either disabled the electric eye that makes the garage light come on when the beam is broken, or they have a model that doesn’t have it.

People come and go constantly, and at all hours of the day and night. I’ve taken down plate numbers, and observed the vehicles that park right at the garage. There are a select few cars that park behind one of the tenants car, the rest park in the common parking area, and they can be many at times.

Everyone that visits, everyone, and there are many, just walks right in to the interior door in the garage without knocking. I have never seen one person use the actual front door of the place, nor have I ever seen anyone get so much as a delivery from a pizza guy, UPS, or anything else. There was a taxi that dropped someone off there though. The taxi stopped and nobody exited the vehicle for almost an hour, eventually the taxi turned off its lights and stayed for another half hour. I was outside talking to a friend, so there was no interruption. Were they waiting for us to leave?

So, I called the local PD who referred me to their narcotics division. I called and got the police equivalent of an answering service. The girl asked me close to 30 questions, I gave them my number, and she documented that I had numerous plate numbers for them to investigate.

No calls. I have a friend in a three letter agency (not ATF or DEA), and I don’t think that I could justify calling them with something that a PD should be able to handle.

I’ve seen odd carpool gatherings, and caravans leaving the place, and I’ve seen more than a few really wasted people coming and going from there. I think that anyone that could see it with their own eyes would agree that the behavior around the place is at least shady, if not possibly criminal.

I’ll grant that my suspicions and observations do not a case make, but the narco division could at least call me to get the plate numbers and start from there.

I’ve lived on campus, I’ve seen shady houses and people before, I’ve even been to peoples houses that sold weed shrooms and such. This is the first time I’ve ever thought that I’m witnessing a drug operation.

What do you guys think?

2

Possible, but it could be other things- like a cathouse :slight_smile: .

Have you ever actually seen any drugs on anyone coming or going, or smelled them, etc?

I really don’t know what the cops can or would do with license plates of drug purchasers though.

Also would a big time drug operation, as opposed to a guy selling on the side to his buds, leave the doors open? I don’t know.

3

Do your have a city counsel or some kind of governing body? Maybe you could contact one of them. I doubt anybody at “three letter agency” is going to divert tasked resources to investigate your suspicions.

4

My gut instinct? By talking to the narcotics division of the PD, you’ve taken appropriate measures and should now let it go, in all likelihood.

Is there a particular reason you want to pursue this in the apparent absence of police interest? Do you fear for your own safety by living near such an operation? Are there impressionable children around that you are worried about?

5

There are at least a dozen kids that ride up and down the street around here. My own safety is a concern because when I’m in my back yard, my view is exactly two walls and their garage in front of me.

I’ve accepted that I’ve done all that I can think of, and the response seems to be nil. However, the only people I’ve ever seen sell drugs have sold pot, and maybe a few vicodins, possibly shrooms. I really don’t want to be near a place that sells crack, heroin, meth, what have you. Not that a house that sells pot is that much better, but you never know.

Let’s say that they are doing no damage to the neighborhood, there is no violence surrounding their apartment, yet I had inside knowledge that crack and heroin were both being dealt there (this is not the case where I live, I have no idea what is or isn’t being traded). If such a house were mere feet away from you, you alerted the cops, and nothing happened, would you just accept it?

6

Develop a drug dependancy?

Actually, it sounds like you’ve done enough. For all you know, they have people investigating it right now. Not like they are going to call you and keep you up to date on how things are going and all…

You did your job. You dropped the dime.

7

Is that meant to imply something?

It’s not like I’m turning in some dude for smoking a joint in the park. Truth be told, I’m really not against pot smoking. If it were across the street from your house would you let it slide?

I’m not being sarcastic FTR.

8

Dropped the dime as in making the phone call to the local PD.
Ah, phone calls from pay phones used to cost a dime. :smiley:

9

deleted.

10

An apartment with a garage? That’s kind of weird.

Anyway, if they’re renting, I’m sure their landlord would like to hear about what’s going on.

I was in a similar situation a few years back. The fact that they were selling dope didn’t bother me so much as hearing a customer pull up right under my window blasting rap music every fifteen minutes.

One call to the landlord and they were out on their asses. I forget how long it took her to evict them, but I know it wasn’t any more than a couple of months.

11

That can also be interpreted as “f*ck you narc”. I’m aware of the origin of the term, but it can easily imply that someone is a "rat’. Call me a NIMBY if you want, but I feel that observing suspect behavior of that nature, and not reporting it equates to negligence.

The situation here is an unknown. I have no idea what the level of violence, or lack thereof, is in this place. I’m not going to get bent out of shape because of some dude that works at McDonalds happens to sell a couple dime bags to his buds. What I think I’m seeing is wholesale distribution. Of what, I don’t know.

I understand that my reasoning and evidence is spotty, but I really don’t think that complacence is the answer here.

12

Well, it’s not that simple. The area used to be an apartment complex, and now it’s divided into “condos” and rental units. Suffice it to say that the owner of the overall property lets everything slide. There was an abandoned car that sat for a full year, was broken into, and had a flat. It took well over a year to get it towed.

13

dnooman I think you misinterpreted gato’s post.

Many people, like me, have no problem with recreational drug use. However the stupid shit that goes on in places where it is regularly sold can get downright dangerous. If this is a drug house you have every right to turn them in. If they can’t be discreet, fuck em.

14

Thank you. I’m very happy to see that someone else sees it the way I do.

If both neighbors on either side of me smoked pot like it was their job, I would not feel the need to say a damn thing. What looks to me to be some sort of distribution point of who knows what, is a concern to me. I just don’t want anything bad to happen around my place. Is that so wrong?

15

Leave them a kind note detailing that they’re being fucking stupid, everyone knows they’re selling drugs and are bringing trouble on the entire neighborhood if they get out of hand. Then leave them alone. Everyone in that house is a consenting adult and presumably hurting no one.

16

What the fuck are you smoking? Consenting adult? I see that you are choosing to mock my stance. Fine. Suggesting that I pin a note to their door is just ridiculous. What does your dumb-ass post say about you? I guess you don’t care. Take another hit retard.

“Consenting adults” are not allowed to use illegal drugs. I’ll stop short of insulting you further.

17

And up until a few years ago consenting adults weren’t allowed to give blowjobs. Would you have called the police on them, too?

18

Blowjobs and potential crack houses. You nailed it. Plus one for your credibility.

19

You argued that “there is a law against it” as sufficient justification for calling the police. I clearly demonstrated that that is simply incorrect. Sarcasm doesn’t invalidate this claim.

I ask you: who are they hurting? And if they’re not hurting anyone but themselves, what business of yours is it?

20

While it can be frustrating, BE PATIENT.

The cops can’t just stage a SWAT team raid on the house on your phone call. Nor should any of us want such a thing to happen, because we could all be on the recieving end of that call should someone get pissed at us for nothing.

It takes time to investigate and gather evidence. If they’re trying an undercover operation, they need time to make contacts, gain trust, make deals and gather enough evidence to make convictions. Given the traffic flow, it may take them a while to figure out who the customers are from who the contacts and sources are.

It’s probably going to take them several months, at the very least, in order to get everything they need to make their cases stick in court.