SAN ANTONIO – A motel near downtown San Antonio where five people were reportedly rescued after being held against their will has been the site of numerous other crimes.
San Antonio police say they were acting on a tip Saturday evening when they found the victims inside a room at the Inn & Studios Downtown, located near Interstate 35 and S. Laredo Street.
They also arrested four people, identified as Monica Martin, 45; Susan Fisher, 49; Ty Morris, 58; and Albert Wallace, Jr., 45.
All of the suspects are charged with aggravated kidnapping.
As of Monday afternoon, it still was not clear how long the victims allegedly had been held hostage, where they were from, or how the suspects gained control over them. SAPD released very few details about the case.
The arrests, though, drew the attention of other guests in the motel, including one man who didn’t want to share his identity.
“First, they had knocked on my door to see if anyone was in there. I was, like, ‘Nah, no one is in there,’” he said. “I was at the pool, and they tried to go to another room.”
Eventually, he saw officers placing several people into handcuffs.
While the unidentified guest said he didn’t know at first what was happening, in hindsight he had noticed something unusual about the people in the room.
“They did, kind of, look a little shady,” he said. “But I don’t know, you wouldn’t expect it from most people.”
He said, however, that he did expect this from the motel, which has had numerous incidents including drug busts and raids.
Figures from SAPD appear to back up his claims.
During the past year, there have been more than 160 calls for police to that address.
The nature of the calls ranges from disturbances to drug activity, and from robberies to fugitives found there.
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