October 25, 2025
Settlement Reached In Selma Nuisance Abatement Lawsuit
SELMA – The Town of Selma has reached a court-approved settlement with the owners and operators of the Knights Inn on Graham Street, concluding a lawsuit that accused the property of being a hub for illegal drug activity and other public nuisances.
The agreement, finalized and filed in Johnston County Superior Court on August 22, 2025, resolves the Town’s March 2024 nuisance abatement lawsuit against the motel’s owners—Rajendra S. Rathore, Sachi D. Rathore, and manager Mehmood Salam.
Background
The lawsuit stemmed from a series of law enforcement incidents at the Knights Inn, including undercover drug operations, overdoses, and shots fired calls spanning several years. In January 2024, Selma Police conducted a controlled drug purchase at the motel using a confidential informant. Prior to that, on December 20, 2023, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office conducted surveillance on a known drug trafficker staying at the motel, leading to an arrest on narcotics charges.
Police reports also cited multiple drug overdoses in July 2022, November 2022, and February 2023, as well as a fatal overdose in April 2022, where a deceased individual was found in a room with cocaine present. In addition, authorities responded to shots fired incidents on the premises in July 2021, March 2022, and December 2022.
Settlement Terms
Under the terms of the agreement, the Knights Inn will remain operational but must comply with a comprehensive list of conditions aimed at curbing illegal activity and improving safety:
- Property Inspections: The Chief Building Inspector will conduct a full inspection. Any violations must be addressed within 60 days; life safety issues must be corrected immediately.
- Guest Records: The motel must maintain detailed guest registries for at least 60 days, including ID copies, payment information, and vehicle data. All guests must present valid government-issued ID at check-in.
- Length of Stay Restrictions: No guest may stay more than 14 consecutive days. Individuals with addresses within 15 miles are limited to 7 days in any 30-day period, barring emergencies.
- Cash & Card Policy: All guests must pay using a credit or debit card matching the ID presented. If paying cash, the motel must retain a copy of the guest’s photo ID.
- Age and Visitor Limits: Renters must be at least 21 years old. Excessive visitors between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. are prohibited unless for emergencies or food delivery. Violations must be reported to police.
- Trespass Enforcement: A formal agreement must be signed with Selma Police, with owners required to prosecute trespassers when necessary. A banned list of individuals must be maintained and enforced.
- Security Measures: Surveillance cameras must be installed to cover all public areas, with real-time monitoring capability and footage stored for at least 7 days. Adequate lighting and a 24/7 on-site manager are also mandated.
- Employee Screening: All employees must undergo background checks. Individuals with narcotics convictions within the last 5 years are barred from employment. Employee records must be available to law enforcement on request.
- Manager Ban: Mehmood Salam and any of his relatives are permanently banned from working at or visiting the property. The owners must notify police immediately if this condition is violated.
- Franchise Requirement: Within two years, the property must be rebranded under a nationally recognized hotel franchise. Additional businesses on the premises require town approval.
- Future Use and Sale: The motel may only operate as a limited-stay facility, with no banquet hall or ABC-licensed restaurant. Any future sale of the property must be approved by the Town and cannot involve the current defendants or their associates.
The settlement reflects growing efforts by local governments, like the Town of Selma, to hold property owners accountable for illegal activity occurring on their premises.
In December 2021, the Town of Selma settled a nuisance abatement lawsuit against the Gentlemen’s Playhouse resulting in a permanent closure of the business.
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I agree with all but having to franchise within 2 years. That’s crazy for a township to tell you to franchise and also makes it not tempting to future buyers if there is a possibility of not operating for full service because of the previous history/owners.
How much does it cost to rent a bulldozer for a few hours?
Demolish
What do you own to demolish Sir?
They should’ve closed the gentleman’s club awhile ago since they serve alcohol to people even when they clearly have had enough. They know when enough is enough. (Know this for a fact, it happened to my late husband.)
What about the masters inn?
Pretty simple solution…..park about 3 patrol cars in the parking lot and take pictures of every car and person who enters. Put a dui checkpoint on the road leading to this place..literally at the entrance. Have K-9 units do training in the parking lot. Do radar checks in the parking lot. Make this the last place a criminal, drug dealer, drug user would want to be 2 square miles near. Desperate times equals desperate measures.
All accusations in complaint proved to be wrong. Settlement was reached for legal expediency and all the charges were denied by defendants. Complaint was ill-intentioned and proved wrong in the court of law. There was so much harm done to the defendants reputationally and financially. Huge sum of money was spend defending legally themselves. Very Sad!
Defendants reputation…..what reputation? The place is a sty.
Boo-xxxx’n-hoo, cry me a river. “You people” are a bunch of trouble makers. Simple internet search reveals how many legal troubles that You’ve had in many neighboring cities and counties. If you own a business establishment you have a RESPONSIBILITY to maintain that business in respectful manner. As well, as others have said, Your place is a real $xxx-hole !
I very much hope that Selma keeps their end with enforcing the Settlement Terms!!!
And, thus making sure that your existence in Selma is MISERABLE!
What about travelers inn in four oaks nc smh
What’s up with that place? I’ve wondered how they stay in business.
It sounds like to me this is just another excuse for the government to shut down a private owned business because the law is too sorry to do their jobs, and if the owners didn’t know anything about the illegal activity or wasn’t involved in any of the legal activity I don’t see how they’re to blame it’s just as much the law enforcement’s fault as it is theirs, And if the law gets paid on busting bad guys they’re going to lose a lot of profit since the place they knew the drug dealers would go to can no longer go there. Just another opinion to discuss.
As someone who stayed there before… Terrible place! Don’t feel safe out there and a lot of illegal activity there… Can’t believe it hasn’t happened before hand.