The City Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday the filing of a lawsuit against a South Los Angeles motel owner, alleging a failure to implement operational and managerial practices to prevent crime.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in Los Angeles Superior Court, contends the owner of the Sun Motel at 10914-10918 S. Figueroa St. has failed to deter criminal activity, and has been the site of at least seven shootings, 30 arrests, and investigations related to trafficking, sexual assaults and robberies. City attorneys allege the motel is the “epicenter” of crime carried out by a local street gang.
The city attorney claims Bullhead City Inn Corp., owners of the Sun Motel, violated unfair competition, public nuisance, and red light abatement laws, and the lawsuit is intended to shut down the motel.
“For decades, the Figueroa corridor has been a volatile magnet for crime, including the sexual exploitation of minors, and the illegal activity of some of the businesses in the area has helped fuel it,” City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said in a statement. “This lawsuit is another step toward disrupting the ecosystem of violence and bringing safety back to this community.”
Bullhead City Inn Corp. officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
The motel is located near a residential area in South L.A. and within 1,000 feet of the Figueroa Street Elementary School and Holy Rock Baptist Church.
According to Feldstein Soto’s office, over the last four years, the Los Angeles Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office have taken steps to address crime at the motel — even meeting with motel representatives, but it remains a hotspot for criminal activities.
According to the City Attorney’s Office, there were shootings at the Sun Motel over the summer, including one that occurred four weeks ago. LAPD reported drywall in one of the rooms with bullet holes, and eventually officers recovered 24 spent bullet casings on the property.
Last year, the city organized the Figueroa Human Trafficking Initiative, consisting of city staff, LAPD, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, to address human trafficking on South Figueroa Street.
Anyone with information related to child sex crimes or other trafficking was encouraged to call the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at 310-477-6565 or report tips online at tips.fbi.gov.