Toccoa Municipal Court Hearing Results in Shutdown of Regency Inn

During a Toccoa Municipal Court session Thursday Morning, July 25, Judge Robert Sneed heard testimony from Toccoa Chief of Police Jimmy Mize and statements from City Attorney John Dickerson as well as testimony and comments from Gopal Pal, resident manager of Regency Inn on West Currahee Street in Toccoa, and Pal’s attorney James Irvin. 

The hearing was in response to a case revolving around a complaint filed by the City of Toccoa against Diven, Inc, doing business as Regency Inn, and the Inn’s owner, Arjun Pal, who is Gopal’s son, according to testimony from Gopal.

According to court paperwork, the complaint filed by the city alleged that the company, and its owners, were “maintaining a public nuisance through a  negligent failure to abate known criminal activity on the premises, violations of state and local regulations and ordinances.” During the hearing, Mize was asked to detail the activities at the motel that led to the complaint.

After hearing requests from the defense attorney James Irwin regarding requests to have the case dismissed or continued due to the claim that proper court notification had not been issued to the owner and was instead served to resident manager Gopal, Sneed addressed the plaintiffs and defendant, stating that the situation was not acceptable and ordering both sides to negotiate amongst themselves and attorneys and come to a resolution.

As a result of the case, Regency Inn will be shut down for at least a period of 30 days, with a review of the case at that time by Sneed. Tenants in the motel portion of Regency Inn must vacate the premises within 3 days of the hearing, while tenants of the long-term-stay portion of the Inn must vacate the premises within 7 days. 

Following the hearing, WNEG News spoke with Toccoa Mayor Gail Fry regarding the hearing and the results.