WOODS CROSS, Utah (ABC4) – Police in Woods Cross in conjunction with South Davis Metro SWAT served a high-risk drug warrant early Tuesday morning on a house just blocks away from the police station and took five suspects into custody as a result. According to police, these types of arrests happen more often than many Utahns realize and encourage the public to report suspicious behavior in their own neighborhoods.
“The reality is this happens in every community,” Woods Cross Police Department Assistant Chief Adam Osoro told ABC4. “I don’t think any community is safe from people who buy and sell narcotics and have addictions.”
Osoro was one of many officers at the scene Tuesday morning. He explained that during the police department’s investigation, officers discovered some of the residents in the home had a violent criminal history. Therefore, it was considered a high-risk warrant, and the department worked with SWAT out of an abundance of caution.
Many drugs enter Utah on its highways. According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, so far this year, highway patrol has seized about one-quarter pound of mushrooms, 15 pounds of heroin, 78 pounds of cocaine, 288 pounds of meth, and 256,008 counts of fentanyl during traffic stops.
While many drugs are imported into the state, the execution of warrants, like the one in Woods Cross, exemplify the growing problem that already exists within local communities. Osoro emphasized that the drug issue affects neighborhoods and families of all socioeconomic backgrounds within the city and therefore affects the entire community.
However, Osoro said it is often easy for Utahns to recognize when there may be a drug problem in their own neighborhood. They just need to know the signs.
Osoro told ABC4 the easiest sign to recognize is human behavior. He added, “It’s pretty obvious when you have a very busy residence. You can tell these aren’t family members, you’re seeing different people at different hours of the day, often late at night.” He then restated his answer for effect: “You have a high volume of short-term traffic. People just visiting in and out real fast.”
Along with an increase in non-local traffic in one’s neighborhood, there are also other physical signs one may notice at a home that is a potential “drug house.” Osoro stated: “You’ll see trash gathering at that location. (You’ll see) things like covered windows, heating fans, and cooling fans that don’t belong there and look suspicious.”
If one notices suspicious activity in their neighborhood, or something just feels off, Osoro said police agencies encourage those individuals to report that activity to their local police department “and you’d be surprised at the cases we investigate stemming from just very minor complaints.”
Once a report has been made, Osoro explained that the person(s) who made the report should be patient with the responding police department. He said that in many cases, like in drug-related arrests on Tuesday morning, it takes months to get a warrant.
