Disabled mother evicted over son's drug charges

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Authorities have tossed a drug suspect's wheelchair-bound mother out of her home for 60 days, boarding up the dwelling's windows and doors after repeatedly finding drugs at the house.

"This wasn't some Draconian measure on the part of law enforcement," said Boone County prosecutor Kevin Crane, who defended the decision to evict 59-year-old Dorothy Allen from her home.

"The issue was, we notified her after the first search warrant. She had conversations with police to try to make sure the problem could be resolved, short of this measure," Crane said last week. "And we waited. And there were more drugs."

The court order evicting Allen from her home prohibits her or anyone else from using or accessing the residence for 60 days. That includes her son, Wayne D. Allen, 25, who faces felony drug possession charges in Boone County and other charges in Miller County.

For the time being, Dorothy Allen, who has used the wheelchair since suffering a stroke, is staying with a family member, said her attorney, Dan Viets.

In an interview, Viets said, "I think the law was intended for landlords who rent premises to people who use them illegally. She's being punished for what other people did."

According to court records, police searched the home three times since May 2000, finding crack cocaine and marijuana.