Superior Creek Lodge Resident Says Problems Won't Make Him Leave

Problems continue at the Superior Creek Lodge less than a week after the city of East Ridge sued the motel.

There's been over 2,000 calls to the motel in the past four years, including a severe beating this weekend. The city is suing the motel for being a public nuisance, and want to shut it down. Knowing all that, some still choose to live there, and don't want it close.

Stephen Ruch says he hasn't had one problem since living at the Superior Creek Lodge on and off for the past two years.

When we asked him why he chose to live there, knowing that there were problems at the motel, he said "there are problems everywhere."

But there have been over 2,000 problems worthy of police calls at the motel in the past four years, like robberies, rapes, and drug deals. Most recently a man was found beaten in an elevator at the motel Sunday morning. Warrants have been issued for 18-year-old James Conley, of Gainesville, and his father, 44-year-old Jimmie Conley in connection with the attack.

Our Facebook post about the beating is what prompted Ruch to defend his home.

"Not everybody is a drug dealer. Not everybody's on crack. Not everybody's a thief."

Even though Ruch and his friend Jake Gannon know there are those types of people there, it's not enough to make them leave.
   
"Since I've been staying here I've seen cops every night, possibly," said Gannon. "But bugging us? No."
 
Ruch says he does not want the motel shut down, but does want to see it cleaned up.

"Take a drug dog in there and if they find drugs, arrest them and get them out of there. Do background checks. There's other things they can do other than shut it out and let a thousand people go homeless."

If the city wins the lawsuit, then the Superior Creek Lodge will close. The hearing is scheduled for next month.

We tried contacting the owners of the motel. They also own a Superior Creek Lodge in Kennesaw, Georgia. The woman who answered the phone said, "No comment," and hung up.