EUSTIS, Florida—A man was found dead of a suspected overdose Wednesday at an embattled motel that is at risk of foreclosure due to code enforcement fines.
Eustis Police responded to Colonial Inn, 1000 S. Bay Street, around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after motel workers found an unresponsive man in a locked room, EPD Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake. Responding officers found a 36-year-old man dead with a needle, and bags of suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl underneath his body.
There were no signs of a struggle or foul play and the man is scheduled for an autopsy Thursday. He has been identified, but his identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin, Capri said.
This suspected overdose death comes less than a month after the fate of the motel was discussed at the Nov. 18 Eustis City commission meeting. City Attorney Derek Schroth told the commission the city has several options regarding Colonial Inn.
“Frankly, you have all the cards. They’re in foreclosure now. There are very egregious violations right now,” Schroth stated at the meeting.
Schroth told the commission the options include periodic inspections, keeping the foreclosure open, which is Schroth’s recommendation, or an agreement where the owners make certain repairs by certain time frames and if they fail to comply, they could deed the property to the city in lieu of foreclosure.
Capri spoke to the commission about the calls for service and crimes that occur at the motel. Since 2010, EPD has responded to the motel 1,472 times for a variety of things, including robberies, aggravated batteries, multiple search warrants and numerous drug and prostitution arrests.
“It’s probably the most horrific property in the City of Eustis right now,” Capri told the commission. “I have zero tolerance for this type of activity. This is classic greed merchant at its best. Blatant disregard for the community, let’s make as much money as we can. And the only way, in my experience dealing with greed merchants, that don’t care about our city, you gotta hit them in the pocketbook. That’s the only way to get their attention. Enough is enough. “
Eustis Fire Chief Michael Swanson said his department responds to an average of two overdose calls per month at the motel.
“We are there quite often,” he said.
Representatives from the motel told commissioners they were making improvements on the property and Koresh Patel said they would be checking identification and if patrons appeared to be suspicious, they would not be rented a room. His sister, Nayana Patel said they would limit rentals for the time being and filter out individuals who appear to be addicts.
The city gave the Patel family specific requirements to meet and Mayor Michael Holland said the code enforcement fines would continue to accrue until the property is in compliance. It is unclear how Wednesday’s suspected overdose will affect the agreement.
