THE RED ROOF INN in Santa Ana (Google).
The City of Santa Ana has filed a public nuisance narcotics abatement lawsuit against the owners of the Red Roof Inn Santa Ana seeking to halt rampant criminal and narcotics-related activity.
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, is part of a sustained, concentrated and collaborative effort by the city’s Code Enforcement Division, Santa Ana Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office to target properties that are magnets for gangs, guns, and narcotics activity. The defendants named in the lawsuit include: RR Santa Ana LP and Mountain High/Holiday Hill Corporation, the owners and operators of the business, as well as Terry Tognazzini, Patricia Tognazzini, and Daniel Tognazzini, who are the directors and managers of those business entities.
The Red Roof Inn Santa Ana is a 125-unit motel located at 2600 N. Main St. and adjacent to several businesses and restaurants. The property is located less than 500 feet from the Discovery Cube Orange County and a city park.
Since at least 2018, the property has served as a host for individuals who sell or use narcotics, as well as a gathering place for convicted criminals, probationers, and parolees. The rampant drug-related activity has served as a magnet for crime. From Jan. 1, 2019, to the present, the Santa Ana Police Department has received more than 440 calls for service at the property and has been the source of frequent community complaints.
Additionally, the City’s Code Enforcement Division inspected the property and discovered more than 140 violations of state building codes, including unsafe modifications, rodent and vermin infestations, lack of working smoke detectors, and other violations caused by a lack of proper maintenance.
As a result of these violations, the lawsuit also seeks to abate and correct these building code and health and safety violations for the well-being of the motel guests and the community.
The city’s lawsuit against the owners of the Red Roof Inn seeks a number of remedies to bring immediate relief to the community, including:
• The appointment of a receiver to take over operation of the property;
• A court order requiring the owners to reside in the property until the nuisance is abated;
• An injunction prohibiting narcotics and other criminal activity on the property; and
• Physical and managerial improvements to the property including, without limitation: an internet-connected video monitoring system, improved lighting, secure gating and fencing, improved tenant screening, and 24-hour, licensed security guards.
Categories: Santa Ana
I lived there while waiting to get in our house. Yes it’s pretty shady at times but I do feel bad for the owners/managers because the homeless that live around there are constantly vandalizing the property and its crazy how they can even keep up with it all. I’ve seen 3 fires several vending machines broken into rooms broken into cars broken into including mine graffiti prostitution and drug deals and even a murder at this place. None of it was done by any guest staying there. It’s a bad area and lots of homeless living in the creek bed. They just cut right through the fence with bolt cutters. I can’t even count how many times they had to repair the fence. But they absolutely need good security round the clock and that would keep the homeless out. They have only had one guard that did his job but he was let go because he was talking to the guests. Replaced him with someone who only played on his phone. Guess that’s why my car cover was stolen 5 times. I would cut them a little slack since they have a serious homeless issue there that instead of the City filing a lawsuit they should work together on a solution to the real problem!