King’s Inn being boarded up after tenants were forced out
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — People living in an east Indianapolis motel were told to leave Wednesday or they could be arrested.
The city deemed the property a nuisance back in 2013, in part due to frequent crime and no motel license. Now a judge has ruled that the property must close.
The Jones family packed up whatever they could before leaving.
“Literally everything we own is in this room,” Latrice Jones, a single mother of two, said. “Most of it, we’re going to have to throw out.”
Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, she said she wasn’t sure where the family was headed.
“I have enough for maybe a week or two if we find a cheap place.”
They’re just three of about 50 who were forced out Wednesday.
IMPD Commander Mike Bruin says police have had to visit the property more than 100 times over the past few months. Officers helped people move out and find a place to stay.
For Tyanna Thompson, that place is Wheeler Mission, a homeless shelter downtown.
“I’m going through beyond frustration,” she said. “If it wasn’t for me having a family that I’m fighting for right now, I wouldn’t feel no need to live.”
Both Thompson and Jones say the motel owner, Valerie King, owes them money for rent or deposits they already paid. Police say they’re filing a report regarding King’s Inn tenants seeking reimbursement.
King says tenants had the chance to pick up refunds earlier this month. She says she’ll be in touch with people who have not been reimbursed.
Police say all residents cooperated and left the building. No one was arrested.
A crew hired by the owner was boarding the building up by Wednesday evening.