JUDGE ORDERS OBT MOTEL TO SHUT DOWN FOR 90 DAYS

'People Went There For One Purpose: To Sell Drugs And To Prostitute,'
A Sheriff's Detective Says.

A haven for hookers and dopers on South Orange Blossom Trail has
been shut down by court order until Christmas weekend.

This week's unprecedented action against the Economy Inn followed
three years of disputes between its owners and the Orange County
Nuisance Abatement Board, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"People went there for one purpose: to sell drugs and to
prostitute," Detective Don Woods said. "We believe the owners let it
go on because it keeps rooms booked."

When buyers seeking drugs or sex arrived at the Economy Inn at 2904
S. Orange Blossom Trail, Woods said, members of the staff directed
them to the appropriate rooms so someone seeking pot wouldn't be
offered cocaine.

One such employee, Donald Gillard, had 17 aliases and repeated
convictions for dealing cocaine, according to the state Department
of Corrections.

The motel, which has fewer than 30 rooms, generated at least 30 to
40 drug-related arrests during the past year, Woods said. It also
generated about 350 "calls for service" seeking law-enforcement
assistance for problems on the property, he said.

Three members of the motel's management, Jitendra Kumar Patel, Paula
Patel and Thakirbahi Patel, none of whom are related, claimed they
owned part or all of the business, said Erick Dunlap, a sheriff's
staff lawyer.

None of the Patels could be reached for comment.

The Nuisance Abatement Board ordered the Economy Inn to close its
doors in June, but the business remained open until Sunday. That's
when state Judge John H. Adams Sr. ordered it to be shuttered for 90
days, Dunlap said.

"The closure of a property like this is an action of last resort,"
said Dunlap, noting that the business had failed to pay $15,000 in
fines and faces a sale next month for $34,000 in back taxes.

The motel also failed to meet certain conditions, such as conducting
criminal-background checks on its employees to weed out drug dealers
and prostitutes.

"They didn't do it," Dunlap said. "They said they didn't have
'employees.' Instead they said they had 'volunteers' who were doing
'community service.' "

Gillard, the employee with 17 aliases, had served four terms in
prison for dealing cocaine in 1991, 2000 and 2003, state records
show. He was working at the Economy Inn on Jan. 29, when deputies
responded to a complaint of a gun being fired in the convict's room,
according to Cpl. Susan Soto.

The smell of marijuana filled Room 12 when Gillard, 37, opened the
door, records show. Deputies charged him with possession of drug
paraphernalia and a concealed weapon.

When the Economy Inn is allowed to reopen on Christmas Eve, the
owners must rid the premises of criminal activity or face being
closed for 12 months, according to the Sheriff's Office.