Judge orders Elyria Days Inn closed

This story has been updated for clarity. ELYRIA — A judge has declared the Days Inn hotel on Lorain Boulevard a nuisance property because of constant criminal activity there and ordered it closed for a year. Elyria Law Director Amanda Deery announced Thursday that her office had sought and received from Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook a permanent injunction and the one-year closing order of the Days Inn at 1825 Lorain Blvd. Cook granted the city's motion late Wednesday, she said. In his ruling, the judge wrote that "the conditions imposed by the court" following a week's worth of hearings in June had been breached, and the hotel was therefore ordered closed for one year. Cook "determined that hotel, owned and operated by Elyria Hotels Inc., was a nuisance premises according to Ohio law due to chronic occurrences of felony drug violations and instances of prostitution," according to Deery's office. "This conduct was so pervasive that the owner could not claim ignorance of its occurrence and therefore acquiesced to such conduct." The personal property on site and anything that contributed to the nuisance is "ordered to be sold, without appraisal, at auction to the highest bidder and the proceeds to be retained pending further order of this court," Cook wrote. The order also levied a $300 tax against Elyria Hotels Inc. and charged the company court costs. Shawn Desai, a Michigan-based attorney for Elyria Hotels Inc., said he and his clients were "absolutely shocked" at the decision and had been looking forward to defending their position at trial. He said there were plans to hold a trial on Sept. 29, but that it was continued. "We were shocked the next thing we find, with no trial, was the shutdown order," Desai said. "We were looking forward to a trial. … Generally in this country, that's a sacrosanct right." Deery on Thursday called Cook's ruling "a pretty succinct decision." "Long story short, we're pretty pleased. This has been a long time coming," she said. Deery credited her office's chief civil attorney, Erik Breunig, and chief criminal attorney Scott Strait who "spent a great deal of time compiling the record and building this case to ensure a favorable and just result for our community." She also thanked Elyria police Chief Duane Whitely, Capt. William Pelko and the Police Department's Detective Bureau for their hard work. Following an emergency injunction hearing in June, Cook gave the hotel 90 days to clean up the property and meet additional standards for security and quality. His conditions included a minimum $90 rate per night for rooms including a $50 cash deposit if a guest did not have a credit card; staff training on how to spot human trafficking; mandatory security staff on site from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday; a "significant" increase in lighting in the parking lot; repairs to all exterior door locks; mandatory, valid photo ID for all guests and visitors ages 18 and older; a complete ban on smoking indoors, as well as the elimination of all smoking rooms; and a ban on offering the hotel for sale for 90 days from the date of his order. It wasn't immediately clear which of these conditions were breached by the hotel. A further message seeking comment on the matter was left for hotel management. Elyria police officers testified in court that there were significant problems with illegal drugs and illegal sex work on the property, numerous accidental drug overdose deaths including three in a one-week period in May and a shooting on New Year's Day 2020 that injured a woman. Elyria police responded to calls for service at the hotel 670 times in the 30 months previous to June's hearing, Pelko testified. Two other nearby hotels saw a total of 73 calls in that same time period, Pelko testified. The six-story, 220-room hotel, which also includes a restaurant called Mr. D's Bar & Grille, was built in the mid-1960s and last sold in 2012. Ownership testified they had put more than $1.5 million in improvements into the property since 2012. The hotel sold out for 17 straight nights during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, managers testified, and frequently hosted gas pipeline workers. Desai said it was disappointing that the hotel might shut down for good under his clients' management. "I think it's a little bit of a setback for that area of the city, to have a business of this size affected like this," he said. "We just have to look at our options and try to find the best path forward in light of our options under the circumstances." It's unclear if that means his clients will appeal. "I don't necessarily want to make a comment on that at this time," Desai said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.