The PI.com's Casey McNerthney reports that the Seattle Police Department has offered a deal to four South End drug dealers: Stop dealing, and we'll drop the charges against you. The overture is part of South Seattle Drug Market Initiative; SPD spearheaded a similar initiative in the Central District last year.

In the recent South Seattle effort, Seattle police identified an apartment on South Pearl Street that has a high number of suspected drug deals. Added concern came when officers conducting surveillance in November and December heard an infant crying in one of the units.

Police documents detail several controlled drug buys.

On Dec. 10, police served a search warrant on one of the apartment units and recovered multiple crack rocks and power cocaine, according to court documents. Two people police targeted in that search, a 31-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, were charged with two drug crimes in King County Superior Court.

The man's criminal history includes an assault conviction, an escape conviction, two firearms convictions in addition to eight drug convictions, according to court documents. The woman has a prior conviction for first-degree robbery and another conviction for second-degree escape, according to court documents.