NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – The Neenah Police Department boarded up a property on Friday that was the center of suspicious activity.
People living in the 400 block of Sherry Street say they feel that the neighborhood has shifted since new tenants moved in a couple of years ago.
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Ahtziri Quinonts grew up on the street, saying she noticed the changes after new tenants moved in across the street.
“This neighborhood used to be so nice, too,” Quinonts said. “Growing up, I would hang out with a bunch of the kids around the neighborhood, and then it just stopped when they moved in.”
What the people in the neighborhood saw had grown concerning.
“Times when we would see people with backpacks, my dad found a backpack right under a tree, don’t know what it was, but [it was] then when we decided to get a Ring camera,” Quinonts said.
Police say the issues inside the home went beyond suspicious activity.
“A lot of neighborhood disturbances, delivery of illegal substances, use of illegal substances, subjects with warrants, processes of serving search warrants at the residence on multiple occasions, more than a dozen people [were] taken from the residence,” Neenah Community Policing Coordinator Joe Benoit said. “[It was] causing a downgrade in the peace and harmony of the neighborhood.”
On September 4, an order to vacate was issued, and the city began the abatement process to take control of the property legally, with the house being boarded up on September 12.
“Ultimately, we had to take this action because the problem was not getting corrected,” Benoit said.
Those living around the property say they feel safer.
“It feels good knowing the neighborhood is one step closer to becoming a normal neighborhood,” Quinonts said.
The Neenah Police Department says it will continue to investigate concerning activity to make the community safer.
“We will continue to follow this process with other properties that are participating in drug traffic and other law violations,” Benoit said.
