Press release: Rosemary and Paul Parmar

Contact Person:
Deputy District Attorney Rita Spillane
Community Prosecution Unit
(916) 874-6640

On May 15, 2002, Rosemary and Paul Parmar, previous owners of the Rolling Green Motel and the Ritz Motel on Auburn Boulevard were convicted of 164 criminal counts of maintaining a public nuisance and renting out substandard housing at the two hotels. The convictions are the culmination of a four and a half year criminal case against the defendants. In February of 1995, neighborhood groups and nearby business owners complained to several county agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department and the Planning and Community Development Agency, about ongoing criminal activities at the two motels. These included reports of murder, child molestation, prostitution, drug use, domestic violence, stolen vehicles, fights, and loud noise at all hours of day and night

Between 1995 and 1997, the Sheriff’s Department documented numerous occasions on which the defendants failed to screen tenants, evict problem tenants, or take any action to control their behavior. County Code Enforcement officers found on many occasions that the hotels had seeping sewage, exposed and dangerously overloaded electrical wiring, gas leaks, broken windows, potentially explosive water heaters, and cockroach infestations. During eighteen months of inspections, the squalid conditions at the motels continued. The District Attorney’s Office, the Planning and Community Development Agency, the Sheriff’s Department, and neighborhood groups worked together to try to convince the defendants to correct the squalor and criminal activity occurring at the property but were unsuccessful. Criminal charges were then brought against the two owners.

These verdicts vindicate the dedication and perseverance of the Sheriff’s Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Planning and Community Development Agency’s efforts to respond to the problems at these two motels in a concerted manner. The verdicts also vindicate the tireless efforts of the Code Enforcement Officers who are determined to end the incredible abuses that are suffered on a daily basis by individuals who are forced to live in uninhabitable motels like these and the families who have to live close to them.