Two booked on drug charges after search at suspected drug house near Covington Middle School

Officers searched a condemned home across the street from Covington Middle School and arrested two Vancouver men on methamphetamine charges Wednesday.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said deputies with its tactical team and Vancouver Police Department officers served a search warrant on the property, at 6114 N.E. 112th Ave., looking for narcotics and stolen property.

Police arrested William G. Rathgeber, 55, on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, utilizing a building for drug activity and obstructing officials. They also arrested Allen W. Vandemarr 20, on suspicion of methamphetamine possession.

The sheriff’s office said there has been unpermitted work and building at the location, and Clark County Code Enforcement has received numerous complaints about the property over more than two years.

The dilapidated home on the lot has been posted as uninhabitable, and the property’s owner has taken to living in the building’s garage and letting multiple transients live on the property, according to the sheriff’s office. Recently, a motor home had been parked on the property.

Along with deplorable living conditions and growing piles of garbage, the sheriff’s office said it found information indicating that Rathgeber, the homeowner, had been dealing methamphetamine from the location. Investigators found that Rathgeber would trade methamphetamine for cash and stolen property, according to police.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing.