Neighbors erect public accusation of alleged drug house next door

A battle between neighbors is brewing in Chewelah. The residents of one home say they’re tired of what they believe to be drug activity at an apartment on the 400 block of West Main, and they aren’t afraid to make a public accusation.

Greg Olan and Lindsay Arries erected a sign in their front yard that boldly designates their neighbor’s home as a drug house. The pair allege people stop by the apartment across the street at all times of the night for a minute or two and then leave, likely taking drugs with them.

“We just got mad and fed up so we did this to get support, and we got it,” said Olan.

Olan says they’ve received a lot of positive responses to their sign, too, from everyone except the ones they are accusing.

“It’s not a drug house,” said Jacob Gilstrap who lives in the apartment. “No one is selling drugs out of here at all. You know, I admit we smoke weed and drink occasionally. Other than that, there’s no kind of hard drugs going around here at all.”

The Chief of Police in Chewelah says his hands are tied without any sort of physical evidence.

“If somebody files a complaint, such as the amount of traffic going by, that’s not enough for us to get a warrant,” said Chief troy Anderson. “Is it enough for law enforcement’s attention to be drawn to a residence or an individual like that? Certainly.”

The chief says one of the men living in the apartment has been arrested previously for criminal trespassing, but no drug charges.

Neighbors insist that if police lived across the street they would understand, but for now they’ll continue to post their sign in plain sight.

“Enough attention brought to it that at least if it’s not going to stop, everybody’s aware of what’s going on, because we have to deal with it,” Arries said.

The landlord of the property in question has not been available for comment.