A room was condemned at the Wonder Lodge Motel yesterday on 430 Lake Street, after a 911 call reported a fight inside possibly involving a gun.
Chris Johnson, a Reno police public information officer, told Our Town Reno that upon arrival Reno PD found up to 16 people in one room, and while no gun was found, two people were arrested for outstanding misdemeanor warrants.
Animal services were also called, as a cat had been in that room, while people who had been in the crowded unit were in the parking lot with some of their belongings.
“When we got down there, the condition of that room was atrocious,” Johnson said. “And so we called the health department as well as code enforcement to come check to make sure that that place was livable. And, they ended up condemning that one room, based on what they had found.”
A back view of the Lakemill Lodge today.
The Wonder Lodge Motel is owned by Brar Hotels Incorporated, the same ownership as for the now suspended Lakemill Lodge at 200 Mill street, where safety hazards prompted a sudden evacuation late last month.
Calls and emails made by Our Town Reno to contacts associated with Brar have gone unanswered.
One former resident at the Lakemill who has been trying to slowly get her belongings back is putting together a detailed itemized list of what was in her previous room. She says she’s missing items, calling it a “treasure trove for looting.”
She was able to go up to her room this week, but said her door was unlocked, and that her AC unit had been pushed down, knocking down plants and her tv. When tenants were evacuated they were told to take belongings they would need for just a few days.
Some former tenants have been asked to sign paperwork to get their deposit back and be given access to their former units, but several have told Our Town Reno they are refusing to sign anything while considering legal action against Brar Hotels.