SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - They thought the neighborhood scourge was gone. Now, a suspected drug house in Salt Lake City is apparently up and running again. The people who live in this otherwise quiet and comfortable Sugar House neighborhood are fed up and they’re asking for help to stop it. Salt Lake City police say they may have an answer.
For Red Moose Café owner Teresa Nelsen, it is not business as usual.
"It makes me nervous that they're going to come back again."
Nelson’s talking about three people who robbed her restaurant in a brazen, day-time heist. The three were arrested the same day but are now out of jail on bond.
"I was promised that they were going to go away for a long time, and sure, it makes me kind of upset, and worried too," says Nelson.
“I'm very frustrated," says Marcia Black.
She was one of about a dozen victims of a crime spree that happened in this Sugar House neighborhood during the week of the Red Moose robbery. Residents here say the same people committed all the crimes, including thefts, burglaries, robberies and drug sales. They were only charged with the restaurant robbery.
"I know they're back at it,” says Black. “I periodically see the lady who was driving the van. She pulled up at the corner the other day and she and I looked at each other and we both knew who each other was.”
Black says the trio stole a suitcase from her front porch. She and other family members spread out around the neighborhood. About 45 minutes later, she spotted the suitcase, in the thieves’ driveway. She called police. She got no response.
Homeowners who don’t want to be identified say meth trafficking has increased since the trio have returned to the neighborhood.
"There's a been a lot of drug activity in the last few years and it's turned into meth as opposed to other sorts of drugs," says one woman.
“I’m just looking for help,” says one frustrated man.
A lot of his frustration, he says, is the apparent lack of action by police.
"A lot of times they think we're not doing anything,” says Salt Lake Police Sergeant Robin Snyder. “That’s why we want them to stay in touch with us.”
Snyder says the department is rolling out a new program, funded by a federal grant, designed to connect citizens with police and give cops the information they need to take action against drug dealers in Salt Lake City neighborhoods.
“This new program is actually involving our community officers that work those areas,” says Snyder. “We hope that this is a resource that works for us. It's just another tool in our tool belt."
The tools, drug diaries, handed out to everyone who wants to keep watch. A resident can make a week's worth of entries in each one. Drug detectives can use the information to track suspected drug dealers. Daily diaries are also available for anyone who thinks they see gang activity in their neighborhood.
The program also offers signs for residents to place in their front yards or on their porches. The signs announce residents are part of a cooperative program monitored by Salt Lake police. Snyder says they give residents a way to send a message:
“We’re not going to take it anymore.”
