Drive-thru Drug House in Dayton

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

Police bust possible drive-thru drug house

By Doug Page | Thursday, November 4, 2010, 01:03 PM

Heroin dealers are taking a page out of the fast food playbook: drive-thru service for junkies.

A pair of street-savvy patrol officers Wednesday evening busted a user in a parking lot near the intersection of Shaftsbury and Prescott. Asking the right questions and having intimate knowledge of the area, the officers were able to pinpoint the possible location of the drug house.

Antonio Jones

Rapheal Garrett

After delivering the junkie to jail, the officers returned to the area. There they saw a line of cars stretch from the front of a small apartment complex around to the back.

The two street cops hit the place as some of the cars sped away “at a high rate of speed”, according to the police report. While one officer corralled the remaining car, the other started pounding on the apartment door, announcing the presence of the law.

When the door was finally opened, the officer saw a man in a back bedroom “messing with the window”. Unable to immediately ascertain what the man was up to, the officer entered the apartment and cuffed the man for safety.

While cuffing the man, the officer saw a Dodge Magnum pull up to the window. Turning the cuffed man over to his colleague, the officer ran out of the apartment and halted the Magnum. Under questioning, the occupants all admitted they had driven from Franklin to buy heroin from the drive-up window.

Interviews with the occupants of the car earlier corralled by officers revealed they had driven from Richmond, Ind., for the same purpose.

As more officers responded, they discovered several bags of powder cocaine and powder heroin, and between 400 and 500 empty gel caps, all in plain sight. Gel caps are often used to package the drugs.

One of the men inside the apartment said he saw the cuffed man, 21-year-old Rapheal Garrett, throw something into a kitchen trash can before officers entered the apartment. Officers found a large stack of money, including $100s, $50s, $20s and $1s in the trash can, totaling $3,283.

Garrett told officer he was just visiting his uncle’s apartments.

The apartment’s renter, Antonio Jones, 45, reportedly told police he regularly rents out the apartment to drug dealers. According to the police report. Jones said his apartment is in demand because of its location, allowing buyers to “drive up and drive through just like a McDonalds.”

Both were taken to the county lockup. Jones faces possible felony charges of permitting drug abuse, while Garrett could face felony charges of trafficking in drugs and drug possession when they make their initial court appearances. .