JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A gruesome discovery Sunday for neighbors at America’s Best Inn in Baymeadows: Steve LaForm says one of his neighbors became concerned after she hadn’t heard from another neighbor for a couple of days and started smelling a strange odor.
LaForm went to check on the neighbor and discovered his body.
“He was sitting on the toilet, and he was flipped backward, and his head was underwater,” he said.
LaForm says the man was in his earlier sixties and rode his bicycle everywhere.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office did not hold a briefing or release any information about the death, which suggests there wasn’t foul play.
This is the latest in a long line of troubling developments at the motel. Last Tuesday, the city ordered tenants to “evacuate” one building because of structural concerns.
Last Wednesday, police say a ten-year-old was hurt by gunfire in the motel’s parking lot.
And on Thursday, tenants were given a one-day “notice to vacate” -- and they say management has been hard to get a hold of.
“I’m ready to get up out of here as quickly as possible, but I’m having a real-time finding a place,” he said.
Action News Jax uncovered 826 calls for service from JSO to the motel from January 1, 2021 to April 19, 2022.
LaForm’s heart goes out to his neighbor who passed away.
“I hope the best for him. I hope he’s better off wherever he is than wherever he was because that’s not a hard jump to be better off than here.”
Tenants now have until Monday to move out.
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