SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs City Council authorized its legal counsel March 5 to prosecute the condemnation and seizure of a home at 4808 Kitty Hawk Drive.
City Attorney Dan Lee said the action comes because the house is a tool in a drug manufacturing operation and because the property is unfit for habitation.
Police Chief Kenneth DeSimone and Building Inspector Jonathan Livingston filed the petition, Lee said.
In June 2023, local and federal law enforcement raided the property and discovered a marijuana growing operation.
City officials said the home had been modified to be a large-scale grow house, filled with hydroponic equipment, air scrubbers and processing stations.
The transformations contributed to the unsafe conditions of the house, according to the filing.
Because of the presence of black mold, exposed electrical wiring and compromised structural integrity, Lee said the condition of the home has rendered it unfit for habitation.
During a conversation with City Councilman Andy Bauman, who lives in the same neighborhood as the condemned property, Lee said prosecution of the two people arrested during the raid is pending.
While the two suspects directly tied to the house have not gone to trial, Lee drew a connection from them to others associated with the property who, he said, have pleaded guilty to similar charges.
“It is evident and uncontested that the house was purchased with Mexican cartel drug money for the purpose that was discovered by our police department,” Lee said. “That is to grow and manufacture, not just marijuana, but THC products to be sold.”
Lee also claimed the two arrested last year during a traffic stop and cash seizure were “undocumented aliens.”
In records obtained by Appen Media last year, Sandy Springs officers classified one subject as a U.S. citizen and did not…
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