KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri law has a special penalty for distributing narcotics within 2,000 feet of a school.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Megan Abundis
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged 56-year-old Clarence Daniel Lee Greenwood with many things, including the distribution of controlled substances.
The sheriff’s office alleges he was doing so within 154 feet of Davidson Elementary School in North Kansas City.
“Every morning, there’s a huge drop-off line; every afternoon, there’s a huge pick-up line," said Sarah Boyd, public information officer for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff's office says its investigation took months of work.
Off of NE 51st Terrace, parents, staff and the sheriff’s office have kept a close eye on one house.
KSHB 41's Megan Abundis asked Boyd about the process of shutting down the alleged drug house.
“Talk to us about where we’re at and who brought these concerns," Abundis asked.
Boyd answered, “We’re right next to an elementary school in the North Kansas City School District. This actually started when a school resource deputy saw a hand-to-hand drug transaction. He was very concerned about that. Staff at the school, parents and neighbors were very concerned about this.”
One neighbor, who didn't want to be identified, weighed in on their concerns about the drug dealing.
“It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous, it's illegal, it was a disruption of peace in the neighborhood," they said.
Another neighbor said, “A lot of people who would come out would yell at kids at the parks; it gets to the point where you start thinking they might attack somebody."
Since July, Boyd said law enforcement has been collecting evidence, stopping people coming and going from the house to see if they had drugs, and she said each time they did, it reflected on court documents.
“You can’t do that overnight," she said. "You can’t shut down a drug house overnight, but we kept at it, and we will continue to keep at it."
Boyd weighed in on what the agency believed Greenwood was distributing out of the home.
“We’re alleging that a meth distribution organization was happening out of this home,” Boyd said.
Greenwood is in custody and will be in court next on November 28th.
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