Judge Says No Vacancy in Rampart for Prostitutes, Drug Deals and Drug Use

October 3, 2001

Judge Says "No Vacancy" in Rampart for Prostitutes, Drug Deals and Drug Use
 
What:
Press Conference to Announce Injunction and Clean Up of Crime Plagued Motel.
When:
Thursday, October 4, 2001
2:00 PM
Where:
In front of the Alvarado Inn Towner Motel
1212 South Alvarado Street, Los Angeles
Who:
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Chief of Police Bernard C. Parks, Rampart Police Officers and Community Members
Los Angeles: On Tuesday, October 2, 2001, Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe issued a temporary injunction against the owners and operators of the Alvarado Inn Towner Motel, located at 1212 South Alvarado Street in the Rampart Police Area. The motel is located one mile from the Staples Center and just blocks from two elementary Schools and a preschool. The injunction as issued as a result of a nuisance abatement lawsuit filed by attorneys from the Citywide Nuisance Abatement Program (CNAP). CNAP is a multi-agency task force comprised by personnel from the City Attorney’s office, the Los Angeles Police Department, City Department of Building and Safety, City Planning Department, and the City Housing Department. The injunction represents a major victory for Rampart Area Community Members who have complained for years about the incessant criminal activity in and around the motel.
At the Motel, in the last three years, LAPD officers have made 109 arrests for prostitution and narcotics. In support of the injunction, the City Attorney’s Office received signed declarations from two of the Motel’s managers. One of the managers offered his opinion that about 90% of the Motel’s rooms were rented for prostitution or drugs and that on the weekends, 65% of the rooms were rented hourly, usually to prostitutes.
The injunction requires the Motel owners to, among other conditions, post signs prohibiting unlawful entry to the property, employ 24 hour security guards, refuse to rent rooms to persons known to be prostitutes or users or sellers of drugs, install high-intensity lighting and a video surveillance system.
For further information, contact Sergeant John Pasquariello, LAPD Media Relations Section, 213- 485-3586.