Grayson County is attempting to have the home at 224 South English Street in Leitchfield, a known drug den, sold at auction.
County Attorney Jeremy Logsdon said his office is working to bring the vacant residence up for auction by the summer of 2020.
Ownership of the vacant home is “complicated,” Logsdon said, as there are at least three liens on the property, and the property owner owes around $10,000 in back taxes (including county back taxes, which enables Logsdon to file a foreclosure).
Logsdon said the owner of the home contacted him about resolving the issues with the property, as he noted that the homeowner and bank “had a dispute over the mortgage.” In fact, a bank began foreclosing on the property in 2012, according to Logsdon, and gained a judgement in 2017, but did not “push for the property to be sold.” Resulting in the house sitting empty for several years, with the exception of squatters and drug users.
In early December, the Leitchfield PD and Leitchfield Fire Department responded to a small fire inside the home. The fire, which was set to keep two men warm, was contained to an area around the non-working fire place.
The home, heavily damaged throughout, was an obvious drug den, with “Welcome to the trap house” scrolled in light blue marker on one of the walls (the marker was so light it would not show up in a photograph). According to police, “trap house” is street slang for drug house.
Several hypodermic needles were found inside the home and confiscated by police, with garbage, pizza boxes, soda cans, cigarette butts, and other litter and debris also found inside the house. A cot and blanket were located in one room of the structure.
Logsdon hopes to have the many legal hoops jumped through, and the home sold at auction within the next 6 months, with the buyer owning the home “free and clear.” Logsdon added emphatically, “This property is not the last drug house we are going to fire a foreclosure on to get cleaned up.”
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
