Judge puts limits on troublesome Goldsboro motel
A Superior Court judge has placed restrictions on a Goldsboro motel that has a long history of criminal violations and problems, including drug violations, prostitution, fights, robberies, assaults and many complaints of domestic disturbances.
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Judge Will Bland entered a consent judgment Friday against the Serena Inn, at 708 Corporate Drive. Under the terms of the judgment, the motel owners Kachella Investment LLC, must provide an adequate security surveillance system and additional lighting throughout the property to protect guests. Goldsboro residents are prohibited from renting rooms at the motel without the permission of the chief of police. Long-term residents are also barred, and the judgment restricts other types of establishments and certain Alcoholic Beverage Control permits for the location.
The judgment also prohibits Kachella Investment from operating a nuisance anywhere in North Carolina, and nobody can engage in nuisance-related criminal activities at the motel, regardless of ownership.
"When locations become problematic and dangerous in a manner that is detrimental to the community as a whole, it is paramount that the community works to solve the problem," Ron Lawrence, a lawyer representing the city of Goldsboro, said in a statement.
"The nuisance abatement law provides a tool that local communities can use to mandate permanent and positive changes that improve quality of life in our communities across the state," Terrance Merriweather, branch head of the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, said in a statement.
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