Cayce hotel shut down because it’s plagued by crime, city officials say
A Midlands motel plagued by so much crime that it has become a burden on law enforcement has been shut down, the City of Cayce officials said Wednesday.
The Knights Inn Hotel on Airport Boulevard had its business license suspended, city officials said in a news release. The hotel is in the 1900 block of the road, less than three miles from Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
City officials said the move was made because criminal activity at the hotel has put a strain on Cayce’s public safety and citizens because of all of the complaints and arrests.
Department of Public Safety Chief Byron Snellgrove said efforts have been made in the past to work with the hotel’s owner to improve the situation, but an incident on Monday was the tipping point.
Snellgrove said a domestic violence victim asked hotel management to call 911 on her behalf, but that request was refused.
“When we learned of this refusal to cooperate with a victim in need, we lost all confidence that the staff and management at the Knights Inn was going to do the right thing. It was time to take action,” Snellgrove said in the release.
There have been 169 calls to law enforcement about incidents at the hotel in the past 90 days, city officials said. In 97 of those calls, charges were filed for crimes that included drug trafficking (meth), strong armed robbery and attempted murder, according to the release.
On Sept. 12, Cayce officers filed a report about an alleged rape of a juvenile that occurred at the hotel.
In addition to the license suspension, the hotel’s owner, Binoy Wankawala, has been charged and convicted of operating a nuisance business, city officials said. He was issued a business license in July, according to a notice Cayce officials sent to him on Wednesday. On Sept. 18, Wankawala paid a ticket for operating a public nuisance business, Cayce incident reports show.
“This move is not taken lightly,” City Manager Tracy Hegler said in the release. “Over the past few years, no business licenses have been suspended or revoked in (Cayce). This shows the severity and high level of concern we have for our citizens, officers and patrons of the business.”
The city’s action comes after The State inquired on Sept. 24 about numerous police reports filed about problems at the business.
A City Council hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, to determine if the hotel will have its license permanently revoked, according to the news release.
Response to a Facebook post about the city’s decision has been positive.
One person said they were scared to stop in the area by the hotel, while another wrote the “dump should of been shut down years ago.”
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This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 1:48 PM.
