After 750 Police Calls, Toms River Moves to Penalize Downtown Motel

The Red Carpet Inn, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The Red Carpet Inn on Water Street in Toms River has generated 750 calls to the township’s police department since 2015 – the primary reason officials formally declared the motel a “nuisance” under a state anti-crime statute.

Toms River officials announced the charge Wednesday. Among other penalties, the criminal statue permits the court to close the establishment for a period of up to one year until there is “reason to believe the illegal activity won’t continue,” the township said in a statement. Named in the criminal complaint are 2 West Water LLC, the corporate owner of the Red Carpet Inn, and its sole managing member, Kartik Patel.

According to police records, officers have responded to over 750 incidents at the location since 2015, many of which involved serious offenses including narcotics, weapons and theft, the statement said.

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The Toms River Police Department filed the public nuisance charge under a criminal statute that prohibits maintaining a nuisance, “either by knowingly conducting or maintaining any premises where unlawful activity takes place, or by creating a condition which endangers the public health or safety,” according to officials.

“The council has received numerous complaints about the operation of this facility,” said township Councilman Al Manforti, whose ward includes the property. “We have been investigating these complaints for many months now.  I’m glad that our Quality of Life Task Force has developed enough information that we can now bring this matter to court with enough hard evidence to make a solid case.”

The Quality of Life Task Force, which includes police as well as members of other township departments, has already responded to incidents at the troubled inn. Last month, Toms River police arrested 11 men and four women at the Red Carpet Inn, charging them with drug distribution and drug possession. The raid was triggered by citizen complaints and numerous open-air incidents.

“Improving the quality of life for our residents by combating nuisance properties and their owners is a priority in our town,” Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher said, in a statement. “We will continue to hold negligent property owners responsible for contributing to crime and illegal activity by not maintaining safe and acceptable environments.”