East Liverpool police officers assist as Columbiana County Drug Task Force agents execute a narcotics search warrant Tuesday morning at 868 Lisbon Street, East Liverpool. (Photo provided by Chief John Lane, East Liverpool Police Department)

EAST LIVERPOOL — Columbiana County Drug Task Force agents executed a narcotics search warrant at 868 Lisbon St. in East Liverpool early Tuesday morning.

According to DTF Director Jesse Smith, a deputy with the county Sheriff’s Office, no charges have been filed, and no arrests were made. The resident was not home at the time the warrant was served.

“We found items indicative of drug trafficking and charges are pending the outcome of state laboratory results,” Smith said.

A check of the Columbiana County Auditor’s Office website confirmed the house, which Smith said was condemned by the city’s housing department following the raid, is owned by Ryan Pritt.

Smith noted that the residence has been a nuisance house for the city for multiple years –not only for drug trafficking but for housing issues and a number of other issues.

Smith said the house was incredibly unsafe to live there, referring to the conditions.

“Obviously our intent in going there wasn’t to get the house condemned; we were there for narcotics, but as soon as we got inside, we realized this was not a place anybody should be living,” Smith said.

Smith said the Columbiana County Dog Warden was also called to the house because DTF members observed possible health issues with both dogs in the residence. East Liverpool police officers assisted at the scene, along with the sheriff’s office.

The Magistrate Court of Hancock County website shows a guilty plea was entered on Tuesday morning by Pritt for possession of a controlled substance without a valid prescription.

Last week, Pritt, 43, entered guilty pleas to charges in three separate cases in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, with sentencing set for March 31. In the most recent case, Pritt pleaded guilty to prosecutor’s information for fifth-degree felony vandalism for removing the fuses from a truck on Oct. 10, 2024, forcing the owners to purchase new fuses to get the vehicle running again. He also pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony aggravated assault, amended from third-degree felony strangulation, for assaulting and strangling a juvenile victim, who had scratches on both sides of his neck and blood coming from a wound on his leg on April 19, 2024 in East Liverpool. A third-degree felony domestic violence charge will be dismissed. He pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs for possessing methamphetamine on Sept. 25, 2022.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com