Longtime workers near a troubled roadside establishment describe years of danger as leaders push for court-mandated changes to the Central Motel.

FORT WORTH, Texas — For years, mechanic Salvador Garay has worked on East Lancaster Avenue with one eye on the cars in the shop and the other on the street outside.

“I’m scared,” Garay said.

It’s not the work that worries him — it’s the people who wander up and down the block, drawn, he says, to the Central Motel across the street.



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“Somebody tried to assault me out here in the shop. He punched me in my face,” Garay said, recalling an attack five years ago. Despite the passage of time and a new fence around the auto shop, he said the fear hasn’t faded. “At night, it’s terrible around here. We can’t walk in the night.”

Now the city of Fort Worth is taking legal action against the motel’s owners.

The city filed a lawsuit under Chapter 125 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code seeking to have the property at 5800 E. Lancaster Ave. declared a common nuisance, according to a Fort Worth press release. The lawsuit is intended to address chronic criminal behavior at the property and asks the court to issue a permanent injunction requiring measures to reduce criminal activity, improve management and enhance security, the city said.

The Fort Worth Police Department has responded to numerous reported incidents at the property over the past year, and alleged criminal activity includes prostitution, narcotics offenses, weapons violations and a homicide investigation, according to the lawsuit cited in the release. Chapter 125 allows municipalities to seek court intervention when qualifying criminal activity habitually occurs at a property and the owner fails to take reasonable steps to reduce it, the city said.

Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia said his department has tracked nearly 600 calls for service to the property since 2024, including a homicide earlier this year.

“My officers can respond time and time again and make arrests and take reports, but ultimately, at the end of the day, we’re not dealing with the issue,” Garcia said. “We’re the Advil, we’re the Tylenol you take to reduce the fever. We’re not a cure to the illness.”

City Manager Jay Chapa said chronic criminal activity that threatens neighborhoods will not be ignored. “Property owners have a responsibility to operate their properties in a manner that does not allow persistent criminal activity,” Chapa said in the release. “The City will use every lawful tool available to protect our residents, support our police officers and hold property owners accountable.”

Benjamin Sampract, a senior assistant city attorney, said the lawsuit follows a lack of action by the property owners.

“They have not done anything, because if they had done something, we would not be here,” Sampract said.

The city is asking a court to force the owners to enhance security and improve management, or risk having the property shut down. Under Chapter 125, the court has the authority, if warranted, to order closure of the property for up to one year, the city said.

The owner has not commented on the allegations in the city’s lawsuit.

The lawsuit marks the beginning of the legal process, and the property remains open and operating while the case proceeds through the courts, the city said, adding that it will continue to follow all legal requirements throughout the process.

Neighboring business owners say the situation has taken a toll. Adam, who works next to the motel, said the ongoing problems have been hard to watch.

“Anyone would see the situation as it is and get frustrated,” he said.

City officials describe nuisance abatement as one part of a broader strategy to reduce crime and improve neighborhoods, working alongside residents, the Police Department and the City Council to address persistent problem properties. The city is encouraging residents to continue reporting locations that may warrant further investigation.