GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Clay County Sheriff's Office arrested four people Thursday on a variety of meth-related charges.
The four people arrested are Desaree Midyette, 21, Zachery Gilley, 32, Kevin Carpenter, 33, and Jason Brady, 26.
Detectives believe methamphetamine was being produced at a home on Bear Run Boulevard and at a Orange Park motel that's been at the center of controversy.
Earlier this week, the town government declared the Rodeway Inn on Park Avenue a public nuisance because of the number of calls police have responded to at the motel over the years.
Deputies found a mobile meth lab in a dumpster on the motel property and said they believe it originated in Room 111 of the motel.
Orange Park town attorney Sam Garrison said given the motel's track record, he's not surprised that there was another drug bust connected to the property. He's been negotiating sanctions on the motel that go into effect next week.
"It's far and away the largest point for calls of service of law enforcement in Orange Park," Garrison said.
The sanctions include off-duty police officers at the motel 24-7, requiring private security and no longer accepting cash for payment.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said those sanctions will cripple the hotel's crime problem.
"That will solve it right there, because if you have the police there, they don't want to be anywhere near police," Smith said. "Especially with the meth lab, because it's not hidden. The odors are there, materials are there. It's easy to detect."
Motel management also has to return to the town council in Orange Park with a premises improvement plan.
Police said the hotel was not contaminated by the meth lab. The four suspects connected to the lab remain in the Clay County Jail.