Photo by John Hoff
At about 6:50 p.m. today HACC Chairman Peter Teachout heard the chirp of a police siren outside his house...
It was, Teachout said, the sound a police car makes when he doesn't want to blast the siren full-out, but merely "chirps" at a vehicle and flashes his light bar, briefly, to get a vehicle to pull over.
The vehicle in front of the police car was a gray Chevy Lumina 4-door, license plate SEL 317, driven by Evannor Haymon, owner of 3020 6th St. N., an address which has become notorious in the eco-village due to prostitution and drug activity. There have been many meetings and discussions about this house with high-ranking city officials, not all of which have been blogged about here for obvious reasons. The house is currently close to a sheriff's sale but still in the possession of Haymon, who recently lost the house next door, 3024 6th St. N., to foreclosure.
Two white male police officers were seen speaking to Haymon, asking what Teachout described as the "usual" questions like, "Who are you? What is your business in this area?" One of the police officers made Haymon get in the rear seat of the squad car. After a while, one of the police officers kindly fetched the food Mr. Haymon was eating and brought it to Haymon in the back of the squad car. (Bravo for this small act of human decency and basic respect)
It is believed Haymon was not handcuffed if his hands were free to eat or, in the alternative, he was handcuffed in the front. Teachout was unable to see which was the case.
One officer was seen going to the trunk of the squad car and fetching a pad of papers. The officer ripped off a portion of the papers and gave it to a driver from Schmit Towing, who arrived with a white flatbed truck. The tow truck took away the Lumina, and the squad car drove away with Haymon inside.
An older individual at the house, known as "Pops" and reportedly a relative of Haymon--perhaps his uncle--was seen walking about and trying to speak to individuals at the scene, apparently in an effort to be of assistance to Haymon.
Yesterday, prior to the tree farm dedication with Mayor Rybak, Haymon had a conversation with myself in which he expressed dislike of activities at his property, and former property, being put on the internet via this blog. It was a cordial and respectful conversation. Haymon is, if anything, an intelligent man. In the course of that conversation, Haymon admitted drug activity happens quite often at 3020 6th St. N., but stated--emphatically and repeatedly--the house is not a place where drug sales happen.
Haymon stated he had told Contessa (pictured above) to leave the property because of the drug paraphernalia charges against her, and also because she had no lease at the property. He said there was little he could do about the other tenants doing drugs, and stated in many ways--as is usually the case in conversations with Haymon--that things are the way they are on the North Side, and will not be changing, and it is best to learn such a fact of life and not go around trying to do the impossible, lest one be harmed.
In a public conversation with Mayor Rybak during the tree farm dedication, shortly after my little talk with Haymon, I brought up the drug and prostitution activity at 3020 6th St. N. and how this one property in particular was a source of constant concern to our neighborhood. Rybak responded with a discussion of crime statistics and how crime was dropping, but reiterated that he understood it sometimes didn't FEEL that way, particularly when there was an ongoing problem.
I am hopeful that such public mention of 3020 6th St. N. has put it (even more) on the radar of our public officials. It may be necessary to blog more about it, and reveal some of what has been systematically observed there and quietly reported to police.
Right now, in light of this new development, we are waiting and holding our breath to see what shoe will drop next. There has been recent discussion about ramping up surveillance activities due to constant drug activity on the 3000 block of 6th St. N., and posting pictures and video of suspicious activities right here on this blog, and perhaps even posting signs on poles which say "THIS AREA UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE. SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES WILL BE POSTED ON THE INTERNET."
This idea has mostly been in discussion stages, but the very public arrest of Evannor Haymon (a streetwise individual and self-made man) has pushed things out into the open.
Also, the recent conversation with Mayor Rybak has given us courage, perhaps even to reveal things we have not revealed before about our struggles with crack dealers, crack heads, and prostitutes like Contessa, pictured above.
Rybak said our neighborhood is "ground zero." He urged us to not lose hope, to keep fighting to lift up the livability of our neighborhood.
Mayor Rybak, we are still fighting.
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