ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A dozen people were arrested during a drug raid on two homes in St. Augustine on Tuesday morning on Chapin Street.
The homes are next door to each other.
St. Augustine code enforcement deemed one of them to be uninhabitable due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
Police said the homes that were raided Tuesday were a constant nuisance to the community. One of the homes was recently a scene of gun violence.
Police said 16 people were detained but 12 were arrested on drug and gun charges.
“And I would say half of them had a history with the St. Augustine Police Department or an agency in St. Johns County,” said St. Augustine Police spokesman Dee Brown.
A woman News4JAX spoke to said she was one of the 16 people detained before she was eventually released. Police said during the raid on both homes, they uncovered illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and convicted felons in possession of guns. Police also said the homes were locations where people purchased and used drugs and caused other problems.
“These two addresses on Chapin Street have been the cause of numerous calls for service, disturbances. Two or three weeks ago, shots were fired at one of those homes,” Brown said. “Lots of drugs and lots of people that need help that are on drugs run between these two homes.”
Police left no trespassing signs on both homes.
The woman News4JAX spoke with said she was told she was ordered to vacate the house by midnight. FPL showed up Tuesday evening and started cutting the power to the homes.
Police said shutting the two homes down should curb the amount of violence tied to drug activity in that community.