Columbus man charged after drug raid found children exposed to drugs, loaded firearm
One of the two children in the apartment was preparing their school lunch, within reach of more than 100 grams of suspected packaged cocaine.
A loaded, unsecured firearm sat near the child, next to the two kids' backpacks.
That's what Franklin County law enforcement officers executing a search warrant in connection with a drug trafficking investigation say they found when they entered the apartment Monday morning on Viotis Drive.
A 24-year-old Columbus man has been charged with possession of cocaine after a joint drug trafficking investigation by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit, the Franklin Township Police Department, and the Central Ohio Violence Eradication Response Team (COVERT).
The agencies launched an investigation into narcotics trafficking in Franklin County and identified the suspect. Following several undercover operations, the detectives executed the search warrant, the sheriff's office said Monday afternoon in a news release.
Authorities report they found 47 grams of crack cocaine, 109 grams of suspected cocaine packaged inside of a Doritos box, materials to manufacture narcotics, $1,799 in U.S. currency, and the loaded firearm — which was later confirmed to be stolen out of Columbus, according to the sheriff's office.
The suspect has been charged with distributing cocaine throughout the area. He is likely to face more charges in connection with the case, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
'This level of recklessness — placing children in direct proximity to lethal drugs and unsecured, stolenfirearms — is both disturbing and completely unacceptable,' Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said in the prepared release.
'Our priority is protecting the most vulnerable in our communities," Baldwin said, "and this case underscores the importance of our ongoing efforts to eliminate violence and drug trafficking in Franklin County.'
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus drug raid: Child found near cocaine, loaded gun
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