EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez has obtained a 90-day injunction against a Downtown hotel.
The Gateway Hotel is alleged to be a “common nuisance” and a place where “habitual criminal activity” happens, according to a lawsuit against the hotel filed by the State of Texas and the County Attorney’s Office.
The Gateway Hotel, located at 104 S. Stanton St. in Downtown El Paso, is alleged to be a place where “habitual” criminal activity takes place, including drug offenses, aggravated assaults and weapons offenses.
That is the primary reasons for the nuisance claim in the lawsuit.
Under the injunction, the County Attorney’s Office is anticipating that the hotel will have until Thursday, Sept. 12 to cease operations. The County Attorney’s Office is waiting for the judge to formally sign the order to make that official.
Authorities are working with non-government organizations to find housing for families currently living in the hotel.
The lawsuit argues that the Gateway Hotel “knowingly tolerated this criminal activity and failed to take reasonable measures to abate it. For example, the hotel did not consistently cooperate with law enforcement investigations.”
The lawsuit also emphasizes the serious nature of some of the offenses including an incident on June 16 where an aggravated assault involved multiple individuals brandishing guns and knives.
The lawsuit also cites multiple other instances of aggravated assault at the hotel, including an incident where a man threatened to kill his girlfriend with a knife and another where a man stabbed another man in the thigh.
In addition to the violent crimes, the lawsuit presents evidence of habitual drug activity at the hotel, including multiple instances of narcotics possession and use.
Additionally, the lawsuit lists over 90 violations of City ordinances, including a failure to maintain sanitary conditions, blocked fire exits, and most notably, operating without a valid Certificate of Occupancy since Nov. 22, 2018.
The El Paso Fire Department has documented numerous fire code violations, including painted sprinkler heads, an expired fire suppression system, and blocked fire exits across multiple inspections, according to the lawsuit.
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