Huron's Motel 6 sued for $1.5 million

HURON TWP. — A Huron-area motel faces a $1.5 million lawsuit for allegedly giving guest information to law enforcement officers without warrants.Dashay Jones, of Sandusky, and Deonia Green, of Lima, contend the Motel 6 in Huron, on Rye Beach Road across from Wendy's, infringed on their rights to privacy.The civil complaint accuses the motel of providing the guest registry and sensitive information to Sandusky police Detective Ron Brotherton, who is also a defendant in the lawsuit, at his request.In January 2017, an unknown motel manager allegedly gave Brotherton the room number, names, locations and movements of Jones and Green.Green claims Brotherton searched her room and car without a warrant and Jones alleges he was stopped on "pre-textual and even trumped up traffic violation."Sandusky police allegedly found cocaine in his vehicle. He was charged with cocaine trafficking, but those charges were dismissed. He was then indicted on cocaine possession charges and has a final plea hearing in the case scheduled for Oct. 22.The lawsuitThe lawsuit claims Motel 6 as a company has a policy or practice of providing guest information to law enforcement when requested, including room number, name, additional guests, guest identification number, birthdates, driver's licenses number and license plate number.The requests were allegedly made without requiring "documentation or evidence of reasonable suspicion, probable cause, court orders and without a search warrant," according to the complaint.The lawsuit alleges the motel was aware law enforcement agencies would use the registry to identify people with warrants or who were suspects in investigations. It claims guests were followed, harassed, searched, detained or arrested based on the information. Jones and Greens attorneys argue Motel 6's actions violated the public policy of the state of Ohio and infringe upon its guest's privacy rights as protected by the Fourth and 14th Amendments.They're asking for $1.5 million in damages be paid to their clients and demanded the case be heard before a jury. Motel 6's attorneys, however, denied the allegations and demanded the civil complaint be dismissed.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister