Heavy police presence spotted at Garden Inn Hotel the day after federal raid

CHARLOTTE, NC — A second day of intense activity at the Garden Inn Hotel in Sugar Creek. Officers were seen with guns drawn on the property Thursday morning. Code enforcement officials also on scene a day after the FBI and CMPD raided the hotel known in the community for a range of highly activity.

The problem wasn’t fixed from Wednesday’s raid but Ron Zarek says it was a start. A total of 10 people were arrested on state or federal charges as a result of the investigation. Charges ranging from stolen guns to drug trafficking.

“What I would love to see us continue to focus on is get rid of the drugs. When the drugs go away, the money dries up. When that happens, then you eliminate some of these other crimes,” said Zarek.

“This area has been crying out and craving for some type of action to occur that would make a difference for years,” said Charlotte City council member, Dante Anderson.

Anderson tells WCCB this investigation is not a one and done, “I said specifically that we would be very intentional and targeted to these habitual nuisance properties. This is just one of the very first steps in that activity and it’s a multilayered plan that we will be executing,” said Anderson.