Ellensburg Officials Look to Seize Ownership of Drug House Near School, Church
US Attorneys for Eastern WA announced Tuesday, July 3 they're seeking forfeiture of a home in Ellensburg they say is a magnet for crime.
Home repeated site of criminal activity
According to the US Attorney's Office the home was purchased in 2011 by a woman named June Green.
Authorities became familiar with the home around 2014 going forward because of repeated visits from law enforcement they are seeking to take it away from her. Over 300 visits by Ellensburg PD and other authorities have taken place over the last decade.
According to the US Attorney:
"The home is on the same block as a preschool and only one block away from the public library and a church in one direction and the local middle school in another. It is two blocks away from the Ellensburg Police (EPD) station.
The allegations in the Complaint are that Green, her children, and those they allow to live at the property, have repeatedly used the property to facilitate drug use and distribution for years.
The Complaint alleges EPD has conducted multiple controlled buys of illegal narcotics including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin at the home. EPD has also responded for a variety of calls at the property involving, among other things, a drug overdose, a stabbing, an assault with a golf club, animal cruelty, burglary, debit card theft, threating neighborhood children with a baseball bat, a welfare check that resulted in the alleged assault of EPD officers, vehicle theft, noise complaints, trespassing, and code violations for garbage and yard growth."
The civil forfeiture complaint was filed by the Ellensburg PD and US Attorney's Office. No word on how long the process will take.