People staying at the Villa Town Motel were being forced to leave after a court order shut the business down Monday.
A spokesperson for the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office said the order was effectively a public nuisance abatement.
The court order meant guests were required to pack their things and vacate, leaving dozens who stay at the motel long-term with nowhere to go.
“You’ve got people here that are disabled and on a fixed income, where are they supposed to go?” asked resident Ann Sanders. “You’ve got families that have kids, what are they supposed to do?”
A shooting at the south side of the property on April 3 left seven people wounded.
“Three of the people shot came home, what are they supposed to do? They’re trying to recover and you’re kicking them out,” Sanders said.
Guest Rickey Dudley said he paid his rent Monday morning, “and nobody said nothing.”
“Management got his hands thrown up, and that he got to talk to his attorney,” Dudley explained. “What about us? What are we supposed to do?”
“You’ve got my whole check,” Dudley said. “We ain’t got nowhere to go. So, I don’t know what to do.”
Rita Narbaez’s son lives at the Villa Town. She said her landlord would not let her house any more residents because she already takes care of her three grandkids and some pets.
“My kid has to load up my car and live in my car and park it somewhere,” Narbaez said, “and I’m going to have to call my boss and have her come and pick me up.”
Narbaez said the business was not managed properly.
“All they did was take people’s money. I wish i could run this place, it sure wouldn’t be like this,” she said.
Though a manager said he could not issue a comment on the record, EverythingLubbock.com obtained a copy of the notice to vacate that guests received.
“If they would just give me my money back, and give everybody else’s money back, then maybe we could find another place to stay,” Narbaez said.
Check back with EverythingLubbock.com as additional details become available.
