SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Brian Smith is fed up. He has lived in Springfield Township for most of his life, not far from the Red Roof Inn on South Arlington Road. He calls the hotel a constant source of trouble.
He's also frustrated by all of the trash routinely dumped behind the hotel on a hill near a store where his daughter works.
"I would do anything in my power to shut that thing down," Smith said. "We don't need this in our community. I worked hard my whole life to move to Springfield. It's a nice township. We like it here. We don't want this kind of trouble."
Body camera videos and statistics provided by Springfield Township police back up Smith's concerns.
The department said from 2020 to 2023, officers were called to the hotel more than 1,300 times.
The includes 192 calls for drug overdose or medical issues, 266 fight or threat complaints, and another 59 calls for robberies or thefts.
"My neighbor had his car stolen right out of his driveway, and we live in an allotment down the street. Guess where they found the car? The Red Roof Inn," Smith said.
Springfield Township Police Chief Jack Simone said the department decided to take legal action because of "the ongoing criminal activity plaguing the Red Roof Inn."
Summit County prosecutors have filed a nuisance lawsuit against the hotel in an effort to get it shut down.
"Ultimately, we just want the nuisance to stop. We want this hotel to stop being such a hotbed of criminal activity," said Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich.
Kolkovich said all of the police responses and the body-worn camera evidence have been documented, and some of it will be presented to a judge during a temporary injunction hearing at 9 a.m. April 17 in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
"This is a community issue in Springfield and we want to help them address it as best we can," Kolkovich said.
A News 5 crew went into the hotel's main entrance seeking a comment about the lawsuit.
An employee said a manager would call back, but there wasn't any response as of Wednesday evening.
"We don't anticipate a resolution on this quickly depending on how much the Red Roof Inn participates in the process," Kolkovich said.
In the meantime, Smith continues to vent his frustrations as he waits to see what happens next to the hotel. He said he'd be monitoring the court case closely.
"The amount of drug activity and the amount of prostitution that happens in this hotel is sickening," Smith said. "I'm totally backing the Springfield police on this one."
