Riverside Wins Receivership Over Riverside Inn & Suites Cited for Crime, Drugs
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The Riverside Inn & Suites property on Magnolia Avenue will be placed under the control of a court-appointed receiver, who will manage operations and oversee repairs to address unsafe and substandard conditions cited by the city.
The City of Riverside has won court approval to appoint a receiver to take control of a La Sierra motel that officials say has been the site of years of criminal activity, nuisance complaints and unresolved code violations.
The Riverside Inn & Suites, located at 10705 Magnolia Ave. near Polk Street, has been the focus of a long-running city enforcement effort tied to what court filings describe as ongoing “narcotic, criminal, and nuisance activity” that poses a danger to motel occupants, nearby residents and the broader public.
Deputy City Attorney Jacob Castrejon argued in court filings that a receiver was necessary to manage and rehabilitate the property, writing that without court intervention, “the extremely unsafe criminal and substandard conditions will continue.”
“The appointment of a receiver is necessary to prevent harm to the public both in the surrounding community and the city at large,” Castrejon wrote.
City officials said the motel has been associated with repeated criminal offenses over several years, including drug possession, sales and use, assaults, prostitution, overdoses, weapons violations, attempted murder, rape and sexual assault, child endangerment, and assault and battery, including an assault on a police officer.
Councilmember Jim Perry, who has advocated for enforcement at the motel and four others along the Magnolia corridor, said the receivership marks a major step toward addressing long-standing concerns on the city’s West End.
“This property is well-known to law enforcement on the West End of our city,” Perry said. “I am gratified to see two years of work result in the granting of a receivership that will begin turning this property around.”
According to the city’s court filings, numerous people found loitering at the property were on probation, on post-release community supervision, had outstanding felony warrants or had known histories involving narcotics.
One person who admitted buying fentanyl from one of the motel rooms described the property as “the drug capital of the world” and told officials that someone at the motel was known to sell fentanyl to local homeless people, according to the city’s filings.
The city also documented ongoing building and safety violations at the property, including a lack of structural maintenance, substandard conditions, unpermitted construction, mold growth, cockroach infestation, and plumbing, fire and electrical violations. Code enforcement officers reported that during the past 18 months, few, if any, repairs were being made.
“The failure of the Defendants to properly maintain the Subject Property has resulted in an unceasing flow of criminal activity at the motel and within its rooms as well,” Castrejon wrote. “The Defendants’ failure has also resulted in a lack of structure maintenance, substandard facility conditions, unpermitted construction and/or modifications, feces and urine throughout the area.”
Under the receivership, the receiver will take control of the property, manage its operations and pay expenses, including taxes, insurance, utilities, general maintenance and debt secured by an interest in the property. The receiver also will hire licensed contractors to address structural and safety problems.
City officials said the action is intended to stabilize the property, address unsafe conditions and reduce the impact of criminal and nuisance activity on the surrounding La Sierra community.
