Bust may cut drug activity near homeless shelters

Salt Lake City police arrested seven people — including a Hurricane Katrina evacuee — in a drug bust they say puts a dent in narcotics trafficking around Pioneer Park and the city's homeless shelters.

Officers served a search warrant on a home near 500 North and 800 West Thursday night, seizing crack cocaine, methamphetamine, Lortab, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, said Salt Lake Police Det. Robin Snyder. A 12-year-old girl living in the home was placed in state protective custody.

Police said three people detained at the home were Hurricane Katrina evacuees who had relocated to the Salt Lake area after the disaster. One of those men was arrested.

Detectives discovered the suspected drug home through undercover work, Snyder said. Police believe the home had been providing some of the largest amounts of drugs being dealt around the homeless shelters on Rio Grande Street.

"We believe that this house has been a big supplier to the shelter area around Pioneer Park," she said Friday. "It's an ongoing problem that we've been dealing with for years. Lately, we've stepped up patrol in that area again."

Employees at The Road Home shelter on Rio Grande Street describe the drug trade around the shelters as "ongoing trouble" that has been around for some time. James Woolf, the director of shelter services at The Road Home, praised police for the bust.

"We've noticed an increase in police presence down here. They've been down here community policing more frequently," Woolf said.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com