ATLANTA — The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office announced what it called a major victory over a known drug house with a long history of crime attached to it.
The house at 730 Dill Ave. became known for repeated drugs sales and the storage of drugs and for being a place where people could use narcotics. Neighbors called it a cancer on the community.
The home was even referenced in a song by rapper Soulja Boy.
A judge ordered the house to be forfeited to the state this week, after the district attorney said a Channel 2 Action News investigation into the home was critical in making this happen.
District Attorney Paul Howard told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that the forfeiture of 730 Dill Ave. is one of the highlights of his career.
“That property has destroyed so many lives,” neighbor Roslyn Hill said.
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“The worst aspect of this would be the amount of kids that I would see going in and out of this house,” another neighbor said about the home.
In 2016, Winne was with police as they raided the home. Investigators seized drugs and a gun at that time. In the midst of our investigation, the district attorney's office filed a complaint to forfeit the home and take it away from the owner. That legal battle finally came to an end this week.
“The property now, when the judge signs the final order, will belong to the state of Georgia by and through the Fulton County DA’s office,’ Howard said.
“I went home, and I prayed, and I thanked God,” Hill told Winne.
The neighbor said she was happy to testify during the trial because her son, Vincent Sanders, was killed at the home after Atlanta police had raided it 10 times.
The district attorney said Abdul Sabir was one of four titled owners of the house and was not alleged to have participated in drug activity.
“I never knew anything about drugs,” Sabir told Winne during three years ago. “I never sold drugs. I’m against that, however, whatever someone else does, I don’t have knowledge of it.”
Howard said that, after we filed an open records request, he looked into his office's handling of the Atlanta Police Department’s requests to seize the home.
“I did not like what I saw,” Howard said.
The district attorney said he immediately took action and plans to do the same thing with 88 more drug houses across Fulton County.
“Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly but they do turn,” neighbor Ruben Burney said.
“It’s a win for the community. It’s a win for us and it’s also a win for the DA’s office,” Atlanta police Sgt. Scott Farais said.
Howard said the legal team that pulled this off was not on the case originally and moved swiftly once it was assigned.
Cox Media Group
