PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
A north Portland home was raided by police after a fed-up neighbor sent officers a flier that said "Heroin for sale" and gave the home's address.
Portland police officers and the bureau's Special Emergency Reaction Team served a search warrant on the home in the 3900 block of North Massachusetts on Tuesday.
SLIDESHOW: 'Heroin for sale' sign given to police
Officers who raided the home found a small meth lab, 19 grams of marijuana, 10 grams of heroin, 190 pills and $4,143 in cash, police say. They also seized a shotgun.
Police began looking into the home more than a year ago because of numerous neighborhood complaints. At one point, an unidentified neighbor gave police the "Heroin for sale" flier, which also had the address and names of the suspected drug dealers.
In addition, there were a number of public safety meetings where neighbors complained about the drug problem in their neighborhood, and they asked for something to be done, police say.
During the raid, there were seven adults and one 15-year-old in the home. Six of the adults were arrested on various charges: 59-year-old Joseph Baron, 58-year-old Shari Baron, 42-year-old Todd Christie, 36-year-old Suzanne Johnson, 34-year-old Barry Frost and 34-year-old Steven Davis.
After
police searched the house, neighbors came out to thank
the officers.
Sgt. John Birkinbine, who leads the Neighborhood Response Team for the area,
says many of the officers were surprised at what happened after the suspects
were arrested.
"They were running out to our commander in the street and
giving him hugs," Birkinbine says.
He says the neighbors deserve most of the credit for
getting the suspected drug house busted.
Many of the homeowners took down license plate numbers to suspicious
vehicles. Others tell FOX 12 they took pictures of people coming and going from
the house.
"We really have to hand it
to them. They really did a lot of the leg work on this for us," says Birkinbine.
Nearby residents were relieved when officers moved in, many saying they had waited years for this to happen.
"As a lifelong
resident of this area, it's gratifying to see the authorities take care of this
problem for us," says Doug Barrett.
Other homeowners say
they had grown tired of the suspected drug activity bringing in unwanted
traffic.
"Well, it was a long time
coming and I'm really glad it did," says Bruce Hellemn.
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