SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Dangerous Assessment Response Team, better known as DART, executed a search warrant at an East Side home last week that led investigators to guns and drugs and the arrest of three people.
The bust happened Friday at a home in the 5000 block of Creekmoore Drive.
DART is tasked with removing criminal elements and getting private or commercial properties up to code.
“Eventually, these little kids are going to grow up, and they’re going to see drugs all over, so them getting rid of the problem is best for everyone,” said Roman Sandoval, who lives near the property in DART’s latest bust.
Deputy city attorney Joe Ni?o explained what the home on Creekmoore Drive was subjecting its neighbors to.
“You had everything from shots being fired at the location, narcotics being dealt at the location, multiple family disturbances. We had prostitution coming out of there,” Ni?o said.
Ni?o said the DART unit, which the city attorney’s office coordinates, includes the following: Code Enforcement, Animal Care Services, the San Antonio Police Department, the San Antonio Fire Department, the Metropolitan Health District, the city’s Department of Human Services and Haven for Hope. They target nuisance private or commercial properties.
For the DART unit to execute a search warrant at a property, the location must have a documented history of criminal or code violations for at least two years. The documentation can be anything from complaint calls, police reports, or calls to 311.
“We go to court. A judge or jury is going to have to determine that this property is a nuisance, which means they’re going to have to have a documented history,” Ni?o said.
For some, the two-year minimum wait may seem excessive.
DART’s latest bust happened in District 2. Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said his constituents have mixed feelings about the current system.
“Some people will view this as doing the job. Others might say it should have been done a long time ago,” McKee-Rodriguez said.
Ni?o said it’s not that those property owners won’t face consequences for two years, and they will still have to deal with day-to-day calls related to their address. But if things don’t improve after two years, that’s where DART steps in.
“The DART team is here to address the worst of the worst nuisance properties. It is here to make the city a better place to live,” Ni?o said.