Handling Drug Criminal Activity in Housing
At 5:00 am on a normal Thursday morning, things turn to “not-so-normal” in the blink of an eye. Swat Team vans show up at the property. One of your buildings is surrounded by at least twenty police officers who are fully equipped with shotguns and are wearing masks and bulletproof vests. One brave officer smashes the door to unit 302 in with a battering ram. Another five officers enter the unit with extreme speed and precision. A few minutes later they remove the tenant from the apartment in handcuffs. You later learn that the tenant has been charged with possession and distribution of massive quantities of crack-cocaine and heroin. The outside of your apartment building is now the site of the lead story of every newscast in Rhode Island.
Unfortunately, this scenario is not a made up one or something that was seen in a movie. Landlord-Tenant issues in Rhode Island are getting more and more complicated. Join us for an informative session that will address drug problems from two different perspectives.
Kevin Eaton, Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Justice in Providence, will speak about many issues relating to drug activity potentially happening at your site. Is it only consumption? Or is there sale and perhaps even production going on? Using his experience of 16 years and his familiarity with this issue in Rhode Island, Mr. Eaton will present signs to help determine if sales or production is going on, how to recognize problem resident and visitors, how to keep your staff and property safe, and tips about getting law enforcement involved.
Frank Flynn and attorneys from the Flynn Law Group will present the second part of this session in an interactive format. Hypothetical scenarios will be examined and best legal options and strategies to address the use, possession, and distribution of drugs based on recent cases that they have handled. Topics to be addressed include:
- How to work with legal counsel to handle various drug issues
- The use of injunctions as a course of action.
- Proper documentation of issues.
- Relationships with local, state and regional law enforcement>
- Preparation for court hearings.
Flynn Law Group is a growing regional law firm that handles residential, commercial and condominium matters in all of the New England states. Attorney Frank Flynn is the Managing Partner of the firm and is a noted speaker on landlord tenant matters.
Audience participation and questions will be encouraged.
This session will be useful for property managers, assistant managers, maintenance persons, and resident service coordinators.
