Strip mall business calls raid ‘retaliation’

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

A Las Vegas attorney is questioning the legality of a raid conducted Friday night by Clark County inspectors who issued citations and closed five businesses in the Commercial Center on Sahara Avenue.

Al Marquis, who represents a Commercial Center business owner, said the the surprise search orchestrated by the County Multi-agency Response Team (CMART) was unreasonable.

"I have a real problem with all these governmental agencies forming an army and descending on these shop owners," Marquis said. "It's an intimidating show of force."

The county team assembled to attack blighted properties includes representatives from the building, health, public response, social services, neighborhood services and public works departments.

They hit the 40-year-old strip mall after Metro Police complained that in a six-month period it received 387 calls to respond to crimes ranging from gunfire to drag racing to gang activity.

While Clark County officials claim CMART's actions were for public safety purposes, Marquis believes the raid was in retaliation for a pending lawsuit his client has against the county.

Marquis successfully obtained a restraining order Tuesday from Judge Michael Cherry, who is presiding over the case between the Commercial Center and the county. The order prohibits the county from conducting further inspections on the property and also allowed the businesses to reopen.

The pending lawsuit stems from an agreement the county made when the Commercial Center was established in the early 1960s. The agreement says the county is responsible for keeping up the mall's sidewalks and parking lot. Business owners claim the county has allowed the complex to deteriorate.

Two weeks before the raid, Marquis, his client and county officials walked the property to survey the sidewalks and parking lot.

"The county said they'd get back to us; the next response we had was the raiding of all the shops in the shopping center," Marquis said. "We felt it was in retaliations and that's why we asked for a restraining order."

Clark County Deputy District Attorney Cliff Jeffers, who was one of the county officials who inspected the sidewalks in question, said the timing of the CMART raid was "entirely coincidental."

"It didn't target the building of the plaintiff, it targeted the entire complex," Jeffers said of the raid. "CMART wasn't aware of the lawsuit. It wasn't a factor in their decision."

Jeffers also defended the legality of Friday night's inspections. He said every department involved in the CMART team has the authority to inspect businesses.

"They're each authorized to do inspections by themselves, so does it somehow become illegal if they do it at the same time?" Jeffers asked.

A hearing on the lawsuit between the county and the Commercial Center has been scheduled for Nov. 6.