D.A. declares Budgetel Inn 'nuisance,' residents evicted with little notice Wednesday

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. — UPDATE (Wednesday afternoon):

A local hotel condemned as a haven for drug use and a hideout for fugitives and sex offenders has now been shut down, forcing residents out.

With nowhere to go, residents like Edith Taylor-Bankston and Tyler Morris, are questioning why the inn was shut down.

"I'm stressing out trying to figure out where I'm gonna go and what I'm gonna do," says one resident.

Court documents show nearby business owners worried for their safety and their livelihood, as the DA cites hundreds of police calls to the property.

There have been 1,421 emergency calls from the Budgetel in the past 3 years, including 300 EMS responses and 8 overdoses, causing district attorney Coty Wamp to label the place a nuisance.

The injunction cites a quote “extremely concerning” encounter where a person identifying himself as a manager told police they weren’t allowed on the property.

East Ridge PD says the Budgetel occupied 35% of the city’s emergency responses to hotels.

The decision to close was supported by 9 local businesses, who signed petitions.

We tried to speaking to each of those businesses, but none of them would tell us their stories on camera.

We asked DA Wamp how many people have been evicted so far, she says the number is unknown because the hotel did not keep track of people staying here.

We do know there are more than 300 rooms.

EARLIER (Wednesday morning):

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp's office sent us a petition for abatement for this case via email Wednesday morning, as evictions continued into the daylight hours and charity groups helped affected residents.

That petition indicates Wednesday's evictions came about because a man claiming to be the hotel's manager told an East Ridge officer conducting a traffic stop that police weren't allowed on the property.

Wamp later called the hotel a 'crime hub' in a Wednesday morning news conference. Watch below:

"This decision was a difficult one, but it had to be made," Wamp said.

D.A. Wamp's order identifies the Budgetel Inn and Suites as a 'nuisance,' which her petition says is defined by law as

any place in or upon which lewdness, prostitution , promotion of prostitution, patronizing prostitution, unlawful sale of intoxicating liquors, unlawful sale of any regulated legend drug, narcotic, other controlled substance analogue, any sale or possession with intent to sell drug paraphernalia...., unlawful gambling, any sale, exhibition or possession of any material determined to be obscene or pornographic with intent to exhibit, sell, deliver or distribute manner or materials..., quarreling, drunkenness, fighting, breaches of the pace are carried on or permitted, and personal property, contents, furniture, fixtures, equipment and stock used in or in connection with the conducting and maintaining any such place for any such purposes."

Wamp's petition says the Budgetel Inn and Suite has been "a haven" for drug use, drug overdoses, drug sales, and "has been used as a hideout for out-of-state wanted fugitives, aggravated assaults, used as a residence by registered sex offenders with children living on the premises, and other criminal activities."

Four registered sex offenders were identified as living at the hotel, according to the petition, who listed it as their 'place of residence' in the sex offender registry.

The petition says between October of 2019 and October of 2022, East Ridge Police were called to the Budgetel 1,421 times, and East Ridge firefighters were called to the scene 378 times. Hamilton County EMS first responders were called to the Budgetel 378 at the same location, says the petition, including at least 8 overdose calls, 2 of which were fatal.

Many local business owners have filed affidavits claiming they were worried for their safety.

Katie Glaze, owner of The Green Gardinia, located next to the Budgetel Inn, filed an affidavit claiming music from the Budgetel Inn was so loud it sometimes shook the walls of her store, and that people tried more than once to break in to the back of her business.

Beth Hickman, owner of the nearby Sugar Plum, complains in an affidavit of panhandling, people openly urinating and defecating on the grass beside the store, and property being broken, among others things.

Hickman's affidavit also mentions a man using the store's garbage to build a shelter. The report says the man returned to the Budgetel Inn when he was asked to leave. Hickman's affidavit includes photos of the trash, pills, and a knife that was left behind by the man.

Aaron Murry, manager at Champy's Famous Fried Chicken, located about 700 feet from the inn, also reported safety concerns in an affidavit.

"The activities of the Budgetel residents cause our employees to fear for their safety, disrupts the restaurants' business, and causes Champy's to be concerned about for it's customers' safety," says Murry's affidavit.

Jessica Wheeler, owner of Department One Three, reports a lot of foot traffic to and from the Budgetel Inn in the parking lot.

"While my store has been lucky and only a few outdoor decorations stolen and not experienced any significant problems with residents from Budgetel, I have observed residents from the Budgetel being generally unruly in the parking lot," says Wheeler's affidavit.

Wamp's petition of abatement says an incident on November 5th of this year apparently brought matters to a head.

The petition says an East Ridge Police officer stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on the Budgetel Inn property. While the officer was speaking with the driver, the petition says a person claiming to be the manager of the Budgetel Inn approached the officer and told him that "the police department was not to be on the property unless they notified management and provided a room number and purpose of visit." The petition says the manager then said the Inn would close the gate and not let police enter.

"This is extremely concerning given the serious criminal and medical incidents that are so common at this location," the petition says.

We're still working to learn why residents were given such short notice.

Wamp's petition says "This decision was not made lightly and we are working with county agencies (Salvation Army, Red Cross, Hamilton County Department of Education, Adult Protective Services and Child Protective Services), for assistance with the people who lived at the motel."

This isn’t the first time the Budgetel Inn has been on the news. In April of last year, the City of East Ridge gave Budgetel owners 3 weeks to correct issues such as rats, mice and other dangerous hazards, or else it would be shut down.

Earlier that year, the City of Chattanooga designated the Budgetel Inn as a place where it would house members of the city's homeless population.

This is not the first time the City of East Ridge has been faced with such a situation. Back in 2016, it shut down the Superior Creek Lodge, after it was condemned following similar numerous complaints about who lived there, the poor conditions, and criminal activity that went on there.

The property was later sold to another owner.

The Union Gospel Mission was on the scene of the Budgetel Inn Wednesday morning to help affected residents. Volunteers served breakfast and sack lunches, along with toiletry kits for the residents.

The Mission says in a release it could use your help with donations of monetary support and supplies.

Gallon sized baggies filled with toiletries, sunscreen, socks and snacks are needed to distribute to the unhoused community.

Monetary support can be given by visiting www.theuniongospelmission.org or by mail to PO Box 983, Chattanooga, TN, 37401.

We are working to learn more details, and we'll update you as we learn more.

(UPDATE: 5:45 a.m. Wednesday)

Moving vans and several law enforcement officers have converged on the Budgetel Extended Stay in East Ridge Wdnesday morning as people living there are being evicted.

During NewsChannel 9's live report Wednesday morning, our reporters on the scene were told by law enforcement to move off of the property.

This is a developing story. Depend on us to keep you updated.

PREVIOUSLY:

The Union Gospel Mission confirms the Budgetel Extended Stay of East Ridge will be forced to evict all its residents Wednesday morning.

“These are just this is just a small percentage, probably probably 2% of the people that's going to be out at six o'clock in the morning. In winter time in this type of weather," says a Budgetel resident.

It’s a stark reality at East Ridge City Hall. In less than 24 hours most of this crowd could be homeless.

And it’s the children who found out first.

Budgetel residents tell us that Hamilton County Schools informed the students at school and phone calls were then made home.

"The school system told us told my daughter because, you know, her kids go there. We got three grandbabies. And they're kicking out. They're making a lot of kids homeless," says resident Rodgers.

We spoke to the manager, Joe Curtis, who says he wasn’t aware of the closing until the schools notified the students.

We’ve reached out to the mayor, city manager, police chief and the DA’s office but have had no response yet.

For the dozens of Budgetel residents waiting for answers, the question still remains why?

“My guess would be that I'm thinking they may consider us a nuisance, because we've had, you know, we've had police calls," says Curtis.

Residents were told that they will be evicted at 6a.m. on Wednesday.

Many of the families, parents, and children are scared for what the morning brings and can only ask for time.

"If you're going to kick me out, give me an ample amount of time to leave. Don't just kick my feet away and expect us to bounce back," a resident says.

The Union Gospel Mission says they are preparing sack lunches to distribute along with toiletry kits to the residents as they leave Wednesday.

The Union Gospel Mission is working with Duoloyi ministries to encourage service providers and churches to come together to assist these families and individuals.

EARLIER:

Protestors gathered at East Ridge city hall Tuesday evening over concerns that the Budgetel extended stay motel will be closed.

We started getting calls form concerned residents at the Budgetel Tuesday.

When we got there they told us the school system was the first one to let them know this was going to be closing early Wednesday morning.

They say they hadn’t even heard from city officials yet.

We’ve reached out to the mayor, city manager, police chief and the DA’s office to get confirmation of when this is happening and why, but have had no response yet.

Christy Chapman with the rec project says some of these kids living in the Budgetel have no where to go.

She described the situation as ‘inhumane.'

We will update this story once we hear from officials and get more details.