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Columbus is suing to shut down Rosco's Market in Hilltop after a crime in the area

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Columbus is suing to shut down Rosco's Market in Hilltop after a crime in the area

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Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein wants to shut down a Hilltop market that his office says is a “haven for prostitution, drug-related activities and violence.”

Klein announced Tuesday that his office is filing a lawsuit in Franklin County Municipal Court against the owners of Rosco's Market at 2500 Sullivant Ave. submitted. The store is a few blocks from Burroughs Elementary School.

“We want small businesses to thrive, but not at the expense of the health and safety of the communities in which they operate. This market is a nuisance for Hilltop, and once the Property Action Team gathered enough evidence to build a case, “We filed our lawsuit,” Klein said.

The Dispatch left a voicemail message at the market late Tuesday morning seeking comment.

According to Klein's office, the Columbus Police Department has conducted prostitution stings and made several drug busts at the store over the past two years.

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The complaint included a list of incidents that police responded to or investigated in 2023 and 2024, including suspected robberies, drug overdoses and women loitering and selling sex. On more than one occasion when undercover Columbus police officers investigated prostitution, women told investigators that they would perform sexual acts for money.

Due to the severity of the crimes and violence at the store, dispatchers had to assign at least two officers to respond to any attacks on the property.

Klein's office also said the business violated Ohio's liquor laws, fire codes, health codes, city regulations governing maintenance of a property and other laws.

Property Action Team attorney Rob Doersam said this lawsuit is just one step toward making Sullivant Avenue safer and encouraged community members to report unsafe properties in Hilltop and elsewhere to 311.

In 2019, The Dispatch published a special three-part investigation into Sullivant Avenue and how it is an epicenter for drugs, prostitution and suffering.

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