ShasCo DA files lawsuit against Redding motel and owners

November 1, 2018 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING — After noting a dramatic increase in crime over the last year, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office has filed a civil prosecution lawsuit against Redding’s Market Street Manor and its owners. The lawsuit was filed after countless complaints from area residents and law enforcement officers that alleged all manner of criminal activity happening at the motel, located at 2171 Market St.

Ongoing investigations into the motel and its owners’ business practices by Redding Police Department’s Neighborhood Police Unit and the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations have uncovered multiple cases of “deplorable living conditions, with certain rooms having an infestation of rats, mice, and bedbugs,” according to DA officials, who said today their goal is to “curb rampant criminal, drug, prostitution, and nuisance activity occurring at the motel.”

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Today’s announcement comes in the wake of a reported 121% increase in crime at the motel since its new owners, Desmond and Chandler Gumbs, through their company Earl Freddy Invest C LLC, purchased the motel in late April, 2017.

Shasta County District Attorney’s Office has filed a civil lawsuit against Redding’s Market Street Manor Motel and its owners alleging a 121% increase in crime and “deplorable” living conditions. Shasta County DA’s Office photo

“Since their purchase, law enforcement officials have described the motel as a place of excessive crime activity, where they regularly find individuals under the influence of controlled substances, prostitution-type activity, narcotic sales, and violent crimes,” District Attorney Stephanie A. Bridgett said this morning in a social media release.

Crime statistics cited by Bridgette support the officers’ accounts and indicated that from March 14 to October 8 of this year – a 208 day period – the Market Street Manor accounted for 124 instances of law enforcement activity.

Prior to Gumbs’ ownership of the motel and during the same time period in 2016, the location accounted for just 56 instances, according to Bridgette, indicating the Gumbs’ ownership practices caused the dramatic increase in crime at the business.

In addition to civil penalties and an order for the owners to take immediate measures to improve living conditions at their property, the lawsuit also seeks an order to require the owners to reside at the motel full-time “until the nuisance activity is significantly abated,” according to Bridgette.

“The Market Street Manor has become a hub of crime and violence in our community, and it is a public nuisance,” Bridgett said of the lawsuit. “I cannot permit this business to continue violating the law without consequence.”

“The owners’ practices put a strain on law enforcement and adversely affects nearby businesses,” the District Attorney continued. “By holding the owners responsible, my office hopes that this action can change the way the motel is operated.”

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.