It's all fun and games until someone goes to jail and the dilapidated Hotel O on I-55 N Frontage Road is no exception.
Jackson Municipal Court Judge Jeff Reynolds ordered the arrest of Hotel O owner Noah Muthana after he failed to appear in court today.
Muthana has owned Hotel O for more than two years. Jackson Code Enforcement cited Muthana for six code violations in June 2022. Jackson Municipal Court Judge Jeff Reynolds condemned the hotel after finding it had unsafe electrical wiring, defective plumbing, pervasive mold, structural weaknesses, and the roof was in a serious state of disrepair. Residency-challenged individuals occupied the building even though there was no power. However, one should never underestimate human ingenuity, even among such people. The squatters simply ran extension cords to outlets on adjacent properties. Judge Reynolds threw Muthana in jail after determining he made no effort to improve the property. He said the property was in worse shape than when the city began investigating the property in November 2021. The defendant sat in jail for a few days before Judge Reynolds released him. Judge Reynolds ordered JPD to evict all "tenants" from the premises. The judge told Code Enforcement to ensure a secure fence surrounded the pool. Judge Reyonlds ordered Muthana to post a $275,000 secured appearance bond and $2,500 cost bond if he wanted to appeal the order. Muthana appealed to Hinds County Court, arguing the appearance bond was unconstitutional. He paid the $2,500 cost bond. Judge McDaniels never got around to questioning the demolition order because he dismissed Muthana's appeal on August 31, ruling the defendant appealed the case four months after the thirty-day deadline expired in April. However, Muthana did not take his ass-whupping like a man but instead filed a notice of appeal on September 11. The notice states the defendant will appeal the decision to Hinds County Circuit Court. The city filed a motion to dismiss (see, it knows how to do it after all!) on December 1. The motion argues the Court should dismiss any Muthana appeal since he did not post the $275,000 appearance bond nor did he file his notice of appeal within thirty days of the lower court's decision.Earlier post. As Muthana drags out the court fight, the building crumbles. A fire took place several months ago. Rooms are burned out and plywood covers numerous windows. The building has been the scene of numerous crimes over the years, including shootings and aggravated assaults. Judge Reynolds scheduled a hearing today after Judge McDaniels remanded the case back to his court. His interim order makes clear his disgust with the hotel and its owner:In the meantime, while the Defendant games the legal system with meritless appeals, his dangerous eyesore of a Hotel continues to exist and be occupied. The undersigned passes by the shuttered Hotel nearly every day and sees it bustling with people, with multiple cars in the parking lot. A small child was seen recently playing with his toy at the Hotel. And, despite the Fire Marshall shutting the Hotel down as a fire hazard and part of the Hotel, in fact, burning a few months ago, people still live in the Hotel. Undersigned also strongly believes, based on the testimony in this case, his observations, and experience as a Municipal Judge, that other illegal activity, like prostitution and illegal drug use/sales, is taking place at the Hotel on a daily basis. This dangerous public nuisance must end.However, neither Muthana nor his lawyers, Carlos Tanner or John Hall, appeared in court today. A frustrated Court issued an arrest warrant for Muthana.
Although Muthana filed a notice of appeal, he never actually filed an appeal in Circuit Court.
28 comments:
Now do the downtown Marriott.
"Residency-challenged individuals"
Stop using the language of the communist. They are homeless so call them that. It's not a derogatory word, nor disrespectful just because some liberal decided it was no longer an acceptable adjective.
@2:02 PM Vagrants, hobos.
It'll buff out.
Calling vagrants "Residency-challenged individuals" is like calling thieves "sticky fingers challenged" or murderers "trigger finger challenged."
He has pissed all over the municipal court system in Jackson
That motel did not look that bad to me the last time I rode by there. Of course, since I moved from Jackson to Madison 20 years ago it may have suffered from lack of upkeep.
@2:02. I think that was a joke. Geez, lighten up Francis!
They need to do whatever it takes to get this thing leveled ASAP! The City obviously does nothing to improve conditions and appearance. Lumumba is responsible for all of this! It is a slap in the face to private citizens and businesses who are trying to make a difference - the Lefleur East group, the citizens and companies cleaning up the bridges and roadways in the area. And finally, Jackson Water has correctly repaired infrastructure to prevent leaks and jolting potholes at that exit.
Demolishing vacant buildings does not fix the underlying problems from which Jackson suffers. Jackson's demise lies at the feet of the current/previous CEOs (Mayors), Board members (Councilmen/Coucilwomen) and the shareholders (citizens) that elected them.
Jack Webb, Barney, Dan Matthews, hell, hurry...put our best people on this or we'll never hear from him again.
The Marriott downtown stays busy. My in laws stayed there last month while my aunt was in baptist hospital.
2:02, you must be new here to think the Kingfish used that term as anything but tongue-in-cheek. He referred to them as "squatters" in the very next sentence.
5:00, a web search says the downtown Marriott is "permanently closed". I was downtown for the Christmas tour of the Governor's mansion last month, and I didn't see any lights on.
@ 5:00. The downtown Marriott has been closed for several years.
The downtown Jackson Marriott is permanently closed. Guess the relatives slept in the car.
@5:00 - They're not from around here are they?
After Katrina the government had to have a place to house the low income individuals and families that were displaced. It was an understanding that the Asian Indian hotel owners could use their properties to house these individuals but there would be a need for facilities available for travelers. This is why you have seen a great deal of new franchise hotels in the last 20 years and if you have noticed a great amount of new hotels being built. They are owned by dual citizenship Asian Indian families and they are taking in the cash like you would not believe. Their financing comes from both conventional means and investments from their country of origin. If you are a hotel developer and need money you are allowed to bring in investors through an “expedited Visa” for $500,000 per person and it’s been an ongoing situation since 2006. After the older hotels were given up for Section 8 housing the newer franchises were blossoming. The sad part is, you and I are not allowed to take advantage of opportunities like this because our government is totally against us. Like it or not, this is how it is. I know this for a fact because I had a hotel owner who is building a new hotel in Pearl all of this. All they want to do is own it for a minimum of 5 years then they turn it to low housing. Pearl, you have a problem on your hands.
Anybody know how our other demolition project on Briarwood is progressing?
I drove. by Briarwood last Friday. They had a fence up, the demo company sign was up, several pieces of heavy equipment were on site and the building looked like they had been stripping it out. My bet is that it's coming down soon.
@5:00 PM - Would that be the Marriott in downtown Ridgeland?
KF, please update us when this guy is actually arrested. I'd like to know if he post bail in 5 minutes and is free or if he actually spends time in the pokey.
Maybe they will send him to the Hinds County jail. That would motivate him.
"He has pissed all over the municipal court system in Jackson". You mean there are folks who don't piss over the Municipal Court in Jackson?
It's a contempt of court charge.
"Residency-challenged." Be careful with the sarcasm, Fish. It went straight over the heads of intellectually-challenged readers.
For those who have not seen the back of this former motel, the photo was obviously taken there. This building should have been demolished years ago and must be demolished now, ASAP. When a building is vacated, some type of permit should be issued and an extra tax levied until the building is sufficiently occupied or demolished. Vacant buildings attract all types of situations requiring extra vigilance by law enforcement, decrease in surrounding property values, and increaced fire protection.
Front. I took it.
I was traveling to another city not long ago and I noticed many vacant buildings and I am guessing there must be some ordinance in place in that area to require the lights remain on.
There were abandoned CVS type places, but they were well lit and parking lot well maintained.
Kinda simple but it makes sense that vagrants would be easily spotted if the lights are on and you can see inside the clean store. Of course, that would not work in Jackson because JPD would not do anything if trespassers were spotted and reported and nobody would enforce any code anyway.
But in a not-already-ruined city, I could see how something as basic as a requirement for lights to remain illuminated at all times and grounds upkept could be a deterrent.
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