An attorney for the County Attorney’s Office in Harris County, Texas is suing the owner of a local truck stop for failing to stop the criminal activity that has been taking place at the location for the past few years. Apparently the local Sheriff’s office has been dispatched to the truck stop so many times that the state deemed it necessary to file a lawsuit to force the owners to remedy the situation.
Vince Ryan, the attorney prosecuting the case, stated that Key Truck Stop on I-10 East in Texas is a “common nuisance” which harbors criminal activity including “drug possession and delivery, robbery, aggravated assault, and prostitution.” Later in the petition (which you can view here), Ryan also claims that the truck stop may also be being used to manufacture controlled substances. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the owner of the property, Channelview Enterprises, Inc, has done nothing to take action against any criminal activity.
The County Attorney’s office is asking for a temporary injunction that would order the defendant to take steps to stop the crimes from occurring and pay a bond of between $5,000 and $10,000 to ensure compliance. If the defendant doesn’t fix the issue, the county attorney will sue to forfeit the bond and close the location for one year.
Next Story: Company Owner Sentenced To Jail For Falsifying Driver Logs
Source: yourhoustonnews, harriscounty
Image Source: motherjones
roycedressel says
I usually dont root for the county attorney but when I do I drink. Go team .good job.
Charles Robinson says
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t law enforcement’s job to enforce law not business owners. Why don’t harass the cartels that bring them in here if you’re serious as for the working girls like they say a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do 😉
Jeff says
mus t be a customer or rooky. i hope they shut the dump down. no reason to waste our tax dollars on police running here all the time. for once i,m for the goverment.
sudon't says
I agree. Let law enforcement enforce the law, if they must. These are all activities between consenting adults, anyway. You don’t have to buy the drugs, and you don’t have to spend time with the ladies if you don’t want to. I park at the same truck stops as Jeff does, yet I’ve never had a problem politely declining whatever services have been offered to me. Maybe if the police didn’t have to waste our tax dollars regulating how some people like to spend their free time, they could focus on actual crime? And prohibition always creates additional crime.
Ray says
It will be nice if this leads to positive changes.
Kajidono says
Yeah, it’ll lead to the cops charging you a fee to show up. Won’t that be awesome.
NMA says
How do police expect the owner to root out criminal activity? Do they want to the owner to go around the parking lot doing citizen arrest’s on the lot lizards? How about getting his 6 shooter and popping some robbers and pimps. How about giving free handguns to every trucker that parks there, with the instructions to pop any criminal you see. He could hire some women to pose as lot lizards and then arrest any trucker that tries to use her “services”.
How does a flat parking lot with a building full of snack foods and a couple of fuel pumps harbor criminals? The answer is it doesn’t, it’s a bad neighborhood to begin with.
Either the police are admitting that they are useless and citizens need to do the crime stopping, or they are trying to shut down the truck stop so they don’t have to give up their donut break and have more time to harass old ladies driving too slow and still have time to spare to beat some black kids brains in.
El J says
Anybody know if the Cheatin’ Heart Saloon is still in business? Yeah… I used to spend a little time hangin’ at the Key and the Cheatin’ Heart when I was through that part of the country. Guess I’m just a little on the trashy side — oh well.
John S says
So ask yourself why is all this stuff happening at a truck stop? Crime just does not happen, it happens because it is successful. This goes back to truck drivers gaining respect by acting respectful and deserving. Seeing things like this just reinforces the public perception of no good outlaws. If that’s the case of what truck drivers are becoming. Then you will never see general improvements in the industry. Nobody will care what happens to you.
James Nestor says
Sounds like the law is paid off!!!!
Bilbo Baggins says
So the attorney generals office expects the business owner to control crime. I suppose that means it Is ok for the owners to hire hit men to get rid of lot lizards and pushers. That sure would control crime. Random firing squads.
Don says
Yes the Key is a little trashy, but guess what so are the Flying J and the pilot, I have had more girls wake me up at the pilot then the Key, there’s parking at the Key, try the pilot or the J after 5 pm, good luck with that, sounds like the county want some land for there self, there’s no place now to park a truck in houston, so lets do away with one of the places where you can park the key is not ner as trashy as it used to be, so i guess the cop working so hard at the Key must be cutting into there dounut time, what are they paying the cops for any way,
T Owens says
I think the truckstop owners should sell to pilotflj. Haha. They will get rid of the prostitutes n drug dealers. Haslam doesn’t like competition. I kno it’s uncalled for but if the shoe fits… The owners can do simple things to thwart off the activity as simple as more lighting, private security patrols or etc. if they themselves are involved than definately shut em down. Times are tough but they may have to she’ll out $$$ to clean it up or be closed down.
Ricky says
Ummm that should be the police forces job to ensure there is no crime there, not the business owners! I love how it will all be ok if they pay a 5 to 10000 dollar bond to ensure they comply! Shows they only care about the money, not about whether its a safe place!
singhs says
Really?………, if the cops already know there is a problem wouldn’t they let their presence known????
There is more to this story than meets the eye…maybe someone wants to buy the property and owner doesn’t want to sell or someone in power has problem with the owner…
If there is known drug/illegal activity why wouldn’t the cops make more of an apperance…we all pay their salaries right??? Do your job
Lady k says
The key Truck Stop has been that way for yrs. There use to be a little bar on the back road from TS that was a rat trap. Since I went on the road in 1978(first with hubby than as a driver) it has been the same,drugs,hookers etc.
RoadWarrior says
The owner’s actions would be to call the police. Usually the cops patrol the truck stops. The owner’s can’t help it of the lot lizards are there. They go to all the truck stops in the area. They are bothersome but they don’t go to just that one truck stop. Saying in this article that drugs are made on premise is libelous slander if they haven’t been caught doing it. None of the truck stops in the area or most anywhere in North America are fenced-in. This is just harassment of the Key Truckstop. Stopping the criminal activity there is the police’s job. It’s like the cops suing me if I get robbed and tell them to come to my house to help me.
Denise says
Flying J Jackson Mississippi still day light and the drug addicts come begging while you are trying to park the truck.