Fifteen people were arrested and they're facing a collection of charges for more than just prostitution alone. Cornett said one was charged for having an illegal weapon. Others, he said, had illegal drugs: meth, crack cocaine, marijuana, and more. More significant to Cornett is where all of this happened β the Travelers Inn β a hotel on Airport Boulevard near I It sits right next door to the Carolina Lodge.
Cornett said he's had repeated problems at both locations. In , Springdale Police reported incidents in that area, the block of Airport Boulevard. In , the number climbed to This year, the number's so far.
We've had a stabbing as recent as last week at one of the hotels," Cornett said. We've had sexual crimes at those hotels. In , the town moved to pull the hotels' business licenses, but instead, Cornett teamed up with the town's administrator and the hotels themselves to create an improvement plan.
We can't arrest our way out of a situation like this. He said it's time for everyone to come back to the table to figure something out. The assistant manager at Travelers Inn told WIS the crime comes and goes, and he said they can't prevent it, but they act immediately and aggressively when they spot it. A manager at the other hotel said he didn't have anything to say and that WIS should contact Springdale Police.
On Monday, WIS knocked on about a dozen doors and talked to numerous people who live in nice houses, with well-maintained yards, in a big subdivision behind the hotels.
