Residence boarded up following drug raid

A residence was ordered boarded up after four people were arrested following the execution of a drug-related search warrant at 706 Woodlawn Ave. Friday morning.

The city of Hot Springs filed a complaint for injunctive relief and order of abatement with Garland County Circuit Court after the execution of the search warrant, which was issued for the property following controlled purchases of methamphetamine there.

According to the complaint, the Hot Springs Police Department served the warrant at 706 Woodlawn Friday morning and located about 1 gram of “red” methamphetamine, digital scales, a large number of empty baggies and “other paraphernalia all

commonly used in the sale of methamphetamine.”

No information was included about the individuals who were arrested.

The city told the court there exists a “real threat to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood given the reputation of these premises as a location where drugs are sold.”

“Such activity contributes to the lawlessness and deterioration of the neighborhood in and around these premises and adversely affects the use and enjoyment of the surrounding property by the adjacent neighbors and property owners,” the complaint stated.

According to the search warrant, a copy of which was filed with the complaint, in addition to meth investigators expected to find paraphernalia commonly associated with the manufacture, distribution and use of meth; currency or other articles of value that might be deemed as proceeds of illegal narcotics trafficking; safes or lock boxes; surveillance equipment; firearms; cellphones; and computers.

Circuit Judge John Homer Wright issued a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon declaring the residence to be a common nuisance and ordering it closed until a hearing on July 24 to determine whether the temporary restraining order should be continued, dissolved, or made permanent.

The temporary restraining order directed the Hot Springs Police Department to “remove all fixtures and other movable property used in conducting, maintaining, aiding or abetting the nuisance” at the residence, and to board up the doors and windows.

The court also ordered all water, electrical and other utilities suspended until the property is “compliant with all Hot Springs Fire, Housing, Electrical and Plumbing Codes.”