Gadsden drug bust leads to condemning of residence

Ann Renee Sims

A Gadsden woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon after The Etowah County Drug Enforcement Unit uncovered an unorthodox housing scheme at a Terrace Drive residence after executing a drug warrant.  Commander Rob Savage said agents found a significant amount of crack cocaine when they searched the residence and arrested one person on the scene.  46 year old Ann Renee Sims, has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and was booked into the Etowah County Detention Center. The arrest came after a two-week undercover operation.  Savage said they called in the Gadsden Building Department after they found two 10x12 storage units behind the residence that had been illegally connected for electricity and were being rented as living spaces. The unit were set up, with beds, TVs and a refrigerator, with a portable toilet outside.  Savage said the building department condemned the house in which Sims was living, and Gadsden Chief Building Official Brian Harbison said the two storage units were condemned as well.  Harbison said the owner of the property was not the one who placed the storage buildings there or rented them. A woman who rented the residence had apparently subleased two rooms in the house and the two storage buildings.