Rodeway Inn closed indefinitely as law enforcement seeks to address criminal activity

Pueblo's Rodeway Inn has been closed indefinitely, according to Pueblo police.

The order to close operations followed a multi-agency operation seeking to address criminal activity at the motel on U.S. Highway 50, as well as suspected code violations and safety issues, according to Pueblo police spokesperson Frank Ortega.

The operation was planned following both complaints by neighbors and multiple police investigations involving the Rodeway Inn, Ortega said.

"It started with complaints from neighbors, then our (Directed Investigation and Community Engagement) team started spending a lot of time here dealing with crime and it got to the point where they were saying, 'There's a lot happening here, and we need to do something about it,'" Ortega said.

Complaints made by neighboring businesses included loitering, drug usage, and people asking for money, according to Ortega.

Several arrests have been made, Ortega said, though he did not detail the exact number or nature of the offenses in each arrest.

Ortega also was not able to say exactly how many people were evicted from the hotel. As of Thursday afternoon, police and other agencies were still conducting search warrants on multiple rooms.

Ortega stated that along with criminal activity, multiple violations and safety issues were discovered, and in order for the business to reopen, "there are several things they need to address."

The inn is registered to H+J Lodging Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colorado, according to Pueblo County assessor's records. The building is valued at roughly $2.1 million.

"It isn't just one thing, there are a lot of things they need to address before they get the business running again," Ortega said.

Among the many issues was a black mold infestation.

"There were some rooms on the backside I personally cleared with black mold where you're on the outside and you can just smell the mold," Ortega said. "But there were numerous violations, not just one thing."

Ortega stated that resources have been offered to those with nowhere else to go through multiple agencies, including the Red Cross, Health Solutions, and others.

Ortega stated that police are planning other, similar operations in the future.

"We're going to try to address some of the root causes of some of these problems ... this is one of those places where (drug usage and criminal activity) was almost encouraged, that's why it was a center of a lot of criminal activity, which brought our attention to this business," he said.

Ortega encouraged those who know of similar situations to call police and make reports to give law enforcement as much information as possible before it becomes a larger issue.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter@jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain atsubscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Rodeway Inn closed indefinitely as police crack down on criminal activity