DOWNTOWN : 3 Hotel Owners to Be Arraigned

Three building owners face arraignment this month on criminal charges after city inspectors found tenants of two Skid Row hotels living in potentially life-threatening conditions.

Inspectors discovered 17 violations of various fire, health, building and safety codes at a three-story, 60-room hotel at 800 E. 7th St. earlier this year, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. At the Termino Hotel at 1315 E. 7th St., a three-story, 60-room building, inspectors found 21 city code violations.

Criminal charges were filed when the buildings’ owners failed to respond to orders to repair the buildings, said Deputy City Atty. Lawrence P.V. Punter. The buildings’ owners, Dennis Shiraga, 50, of Hacienda Heights; Chae K. Ro, 55, and his wife, Chin D. Ro, 51, of Glendale, are scheduled for arraignment April 20.

“When you look at what we call fire code violations, no smoke detectors, or anything that would alert one of the occupants that there is a fire . . . those are serious violations,” Punter said.

Violations at the Termino Hotel included blocked fire doors, a defective fire hose, defective smoke detectors, exposed wiring, peeling paint and cockroach infestation. At the other hotel, violations ranged from damaged doors to missing smoke detectors and an accumulation of trash.

Both cases stemmed from an investigation by the city’s Slum Housing Task Force. In the past, the task force investigated many structures in the Skid Row area but the number has dropped as nonprofit organizations buy buildings and convert them to affordable housing.

“I would say generally in the past couple of years the vast majority of the buildings have been in the Westlake area, rather than in Skid Row,” said Deputy City Atty. Richard M. Bobb, head of the task force.