Drug house west of Turlock taken over by Stanislaus County. Here’s how it happened.
Debbie Adams moved out of her rural Turlock home of 20 years because she no longer could tolerate the sale of methamphetamine, women running away screaming and aggressive dogs at the property across the street.
To end criminal activity at the 8400 W. Harding Road property, the Stanislaus County Superior Court on Wednesday appointed a receiver to take over the property and resolve any health issues.
The court directed a person called a receiver to manage the property and fix it up, the county said in a press release Friday. The county does not own the property but now has the authority to sell it once it meets health and safety code standards. After deducting construction, abatement and other fees, the property owner will receive any remaining proceeds from the sale, the county said.
“For me, it’s too late, but for those people that are around there now, it would be awesome,” Adams said of the rehabilitation plan. “We lived in fear.”
Though she frequently saw law enforcement visit the property, sometimes with drug-sniffing dogs, Adams said criminal activity came back every time. She reported fighting and other issues herself, and said a dog from the property killed a neighbor’s puppy.
The neighbor who lived next door to the property also moved because of the criminal activity, Adams said. The neighbor declined to comment, but Adams said people living at the property also bred dogs. On several occasions, she said, she saw them kill the dogs by drowning them in the canal along Harding Road.
Arrests didn’t stop the criminal and nuisance activities at the property.
A declaration from a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department sergeant filed in court as part of the county’s application for receivership said more than 15,000 marijuana plants have been seized during five busts at the house since 2014.
During the most recent bust in July 2020, police also found a .22 caliber rifle in the kitchen, 400 rounds of ammunition, as well as dead and live roosters and evidence of cock fighting. A man arrested for illegally cultivating and selling marijuana told investigators he was paid $700 a week to tend to the marijuana and roosters, along with several other people.
“The county is committed to allowing legal cannabis grows and dealing swiftly with bad actors,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Vito Chiesa said in the press release. “Legal action, like the court decision this week, is critically important toward our efforts in building successful mitigation strategies.”
Other issues at the property include fire, electrical and structural hazards; up to 30 inoperable vehicles and stolen property found at the site; and a resident arrested for selling methamphetamine. There are also multiple unpermitted structures, including greenhouses and a chicken barn converted into a living spaces.
The county received numerous complaints about illegal activity and health and safety concerns over the years.
Since 2018, the county has tried to get compliance from owners of the property — it changed ownership in September 2019 — but to no avail. The county applied for receivership in April. The county hired an outside law firm that specializes in receiverships to manage the property.
The Bee could not find contact information for the current property owner.
This is the third time in 10 years the county has sought and obtained receivership for nuisance properties, said Stanislaus County spokeswoman Amy Carroll.
“This is the first time we have used it to target illegal cannabis,” she said. “In other instances, it was used mainly for abandoned residential properties that attract trash, etc.” adding that most property owners come into compliance with warnings.
This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
