Delaware News

Biden secures closure of Harrington nuisance property

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010



For the residents of Harrington, 1 New Street has been the site of constant drug andweapons activity over a period of several years. During the past three years, the Harrington Police

Department has received at least 58 complaints of illegal activity occurring on the site, including

numerous reports of illegal drug transactions in an open air drug market. Since 2005, four search

warrants were executed on the property as a result of drug and weapons investigations by police.

Searches and undercover purchases yielded drugs, weapons, and money used in the illegal

transactions.

That all changed today, when Deputy Attorney General Dan Logan concluded a nuisance

abatement action against the property. Since 2007, the Attorney General’s office has been utilizing

Delaware’s Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act to close down properties associated with

illegal drug sales. Today, at the request of the Delaware Department of Justice, Kent County Superior

Court President Judge James T. Vaughn, Jr. ordered that the Harrington property be closed to all but a

limited number of specific individuals who currently live on-site. Those allowed to remain on the

premises were ordered to comply with the abatement order and to report any suspected future drug

activity to police.

In addition to the work done by Deputy Attorney General Logan, Attorney General Biden

singled out the work of the Harrington Police Department for its active involvement in the

investigation and the enforcement action. Biden said, “Just as we do in criminal prosecutions, the

Department of Justice will continue to use every statute and remedy at our disposal, including the

Nuisance Abatement Act, to better Delaware’s communities by removing drug dealing and other crime

from our neighborhoods.”

# # #

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Biden secures closure of Harrington nuisance property

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010



For the residents of Harrington, 1 New Street has been the site of constant drug andweapons activity over a period of several years. During the past three years, the Harrington Police

Department has received at least 58 complaints of illegal activity occurring on the site, including

numerous reports of illegal drug transactions in an open air drug market. Since 2005, four search

warrants were executed on the property as a result of drug and weapons investigations by police.

Searches and undercover purchases yielded drugs, weapons, and money used in the illegal

transactions.

That all changed today, when Deputy Attorney General Dan Logan concluded a nuisance

abatement action against the property. Since 2007, the Attorney General’s office has been utilizing

Delaware’s Drug Nuisance and Social Vices Abatement Act to close down properties associated with

illegal drug sales. Today, at the request of the Delaware Department of Justice, Kent County Superior

Court President Judge James T. Vaughn, Jr. ordered that the Harrington property be closed to all but a

limited number of specific individuals who currently live on-site. Those allowed to remain on the

premises were ordered to comply with the abatement order and to report any suspected future drug

activity to police.

In addition to the work done by Deputy Attorney General Logan, Attorney General Biden

singled out the work of the Harrington Police Department for its active involvement in the

investigation and the enforcement action. Biden said, “Just as we do in criminal prosecutions, the

Department of Justice will continue to use every statute and remedy at our disposal, including the

Nuisance Abatement Act, to better Delaware’s communities by removing drug dealing and other crime

from our neighborhoods.”

# # #

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.