A West Side apartment unit that was the scene of a fatal shooting and which two law enforcement agencies identified as the center of a drug and prostitution ring has been emptied and boarded up.
Columbus police evacuated 641 Racine Ave. at Whitehead Road on Tuesday after Franklin County Environmental Court issued an emergency court order to clear and shutter the premises.
The apartment unit will remain closed at least until an April 19 court hearing.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein's office sought the temporary injunction following a fatal shooting and after separate undercover narcotics investigations by Columbus police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s office at the residence — one of four apartment units in the building — determined it was a drug trafficking operation.