NORWICH – The residence that was the target of a recent drug raid by police has been declared uninhabitable by the Norwich City Code Enforcement Office due to unsanitary conditions.
Police performed a tactical forced entry with a no-knock search warrant at the apartment on 4 Lee Ave. on Sept. 30.
Police waited to execute the raid of the alleged heroin dealers until about 7:50 a.m., shortly after the three young children living with them boarded the school bus.
The two adults, 39-year-old David A. Cahill and his 21-year-old live-in girlfriend, Rachael A. Cummings, were arrested on charges of trafficking heroin after officers discovered several packages of the drug at the home.
Following the arrest, Norwich City Code Enforcement Officers investigated after police reported a number of potentially hazardous conditions inside the home.
Norwich Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence said he decided to declare the home uninhabitable, citing a number of defects including:
• Animal feces throughout the home from two pet rabbits and a cat.
• Exposed electrical wiring and uncovered electrical outlets were broken and live with electricity.
• Damage to the ductwork of the furnace and to the cold air intake created a hazard of air quality and lack of proper heating.
• Safety railings and banisters along the stairways were either completely removed or damaged.
• Cracking paint and accumulated paints chips were discovered.
• Mold and water damage was located in several parts of the home. Lawrence said much of the damage appeared caused by an over flowing toilet.
• Some rotten food was also located inside the home and trash was being improperly stored and covered parts of the floor and exterior yards.
“About two years ago, the apartment in question was involved in a house fire and its repairs after required that all the mentioned shortages be in proper condition before new residents could occupy the home. So the damages have probably occurred since that time,” said Lawrence.
Appearing in court, Cahill said he had sole custody of his three children, ages 5, 7 and 9, who had lived at the Norwich apartment with him for the last 18 months.
Code officials said several of the items they cited were due to neglect and could be corrected with a few days of manual labor. Lawrence nailed a public notice to the residence’s door closing the building and warning those entering the structure of the potential hazards.
“Until these things are fixed, the residence will remain deemed uninhabitable,” he said.
Lawrence said his office was in the process of contacting the building’s landlord, but was having trouble locating her. He would not release the building owner’s name, but said she lived in Otsego County.
“It’ll fall to her to correct the damages,” he said.
The children living at the home were handed over to the Department of Social Services since their father, Cahill, was incarcerated in the Chenango County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 cash bail and were later turned over to the custody of a relative.
Cummings was remanded to the jail on $25,000 cash bail.
Cahill and Cummings had identical charges filed against them in Norwich City Court, the top count being third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class B felony.
The couple was also charged with first degree criminal nuisance, a class E felony and second degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.