Canton police and a multi-agency task force arrested 18 people Friday while serving search warrants at two Canton homes, seizing a firearm, narcotics, drug paraphernalia and a large amount of cash, according to a Canton Police Department statement reported by The Repository and WOIO 19 News. Police have not released the names of those arrested or the specific charges, and additional charges are pending.
The larger operation unfolded at a home in the 900 block of Fifth Street NW, near Fulton Road NW, where officers arrested 17 people on charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, The Repository reported. Officers recovered one firearm along with narcotics and drug paraphernalia at the home, according to the police statement.
The Fifth Street home was determined to be uninhabitable, and the Canton Health Department and the Canton Building and Code Enforcement Department were contacted about the property, The Repository reported. The Stark County Humane Society removed six dogs and three cats from the home.
A second warrant was served at an apartment in the 1000 block of Clarendon Avenue NW, less than half a mile north of Clarendon Intermediate School, where one person was arrested and officers seized a large amount of cash and narcotics, according to the police statement reported by The Repository and WOIO. Investigators are still working to determine how the cash and narcotics came to be at the locations.
The warrants were executed by the Canton Police Coordinated Response Team with assistance from the Stark County Regional SWAT Team, the department’s Community Involvement Unit, the Stark County Sheriff’s Office METRO Unit, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the police statement.
Friday’s raids are the latest in Canton’s ongoing effort to target homes tied to drug activity, which officers say frequently draw complaints from surrounding neighborhoods about traffic, disorder and unsafe living conditions. The Fifth Street property now faces a code-enforcement review after being declared uninhabitable, and the animals removed from the home are in the care of the Stark County Humane Society.
Police say the investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending. Anyone with information about drug activity in Canton can contact the Canton Police Detective Bureau at (330) 489-3144, or submit an anonymous tip through Tip411 via the department’s page at cantonohio.gov/police, The Repository reported.
Photo: Niagara66, CC BY-SA