Authorities raid Irish Inn
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 18, 2016 10:40 PM
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Several people sit in handcuffs outside a room at the Irish Inn as authorities search their belongings.
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Police search a room at the Irish Inn Friday night after executing multiple search warrants on the location.
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Authorities had to break the glass out of windows to gain entry to several rooms, as they were unable to breach the doors.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Authorities executed search warrants on nine rooms at the Irish Inn Friday night after a monthslong investigation into ongoing complaints levied against the location.
Maj. Tom Effler with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement developed probable cause to raid and search the rooms based on information obtained from citizens.
Marijuana, crack and at least one firearm were all recovered as a result of the raid of the hotel located at 1104 Sunburst Drive, Effler confirmed.
Law enforcement had trouble breaching doors to execute the search warrants and had to break out the glass windows of several rooms to make entry, Effler said.
"One officer was injured because of that, but he had minor injuries that didn't require sutures," Effler said.
The injured officer was cut on his hand, Effler added.
Glass littered the walkways in front of the rooms, crunching underfoot as authorities ferreted through beds, seats, couches, bags and other belongings.
Less than half a dozen people whose rooms were not raided stood outside the hotel to watch the raid unfold. Each declined to provide comment on the events of the night.
Many people opted to stay inside their rooms, recording the operation on their smartphones through windows.
Authorities expected three or four rooms they raided to have children inside them, Effler said, though he could not confirm at the scene Friday night how many rooms had children inside.
This is not the first hotel raid performed as a result of ongoing complaints this year.
Law enforcement conducted another raid at the Serena Inn raid at 708 Corporate Drive in August.
Officers executed search warrants on 12 rooms during that raid, which resulted in five people being arrested and charged with crimes.
The five people charged during August's Serena Inn raid lived in four of the rooms that were raided.
The Serena Inn raid also netted eight citations for possession of drug paraphernalia, two citations for possession of marijuana and one citation for providing fictitious information to authorities.
Effler said Friday night's raid of the Irish Inn may not result in as many arrests and citations, adding that authorities will release a full report on how many people were arrested, charged or cited in the near future.
"I don't think we got as many arrests, but the operation itself went smoothly," Effler said.
SWAT teams from Wayne and Johnston County, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Special Operations Group and the Wayne County Department of Social Services all assisted the sheriff's office and Goldsboro Police Department with Friday night's raid.
Effler said the two raids conducted this year on the Serena Inn and Irish Inn are the two largest operations performed by authorities in recent years.
"We will do it again if we get information again on another location," Effler said.