Copyright Live 5 News WCSC
ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WCSC) - An Orangeburg woman is suing a national hotel for allowing her estranged husband to access her hotel room before he strangled, kidnapped and assaulted her. On Oct. 24, Latasha Brown filed a lawsuit against Tru by Hilton Orangeburg and multiple other hotel management companies. Brown left her husband, Jacquez Tyrike Brown, in July of 2024, and after leaving, she stated he began stalking and harassing her, including GPS tracking. Out of fear for her own safety, she stayed at hotels throughout Orangeburg. That same month, the lawsuit states her estranged husband tracked her to Tru by Hilton Orangeburg and attempted to get the hotel to confirm she was staying there and provide him a key to her room. The hotel followed industry standards and refused to do so. The lawsuit states that on Sept. 20, 2024, the hotel did the exact opposite. Jacquez Brown followed Latasha Brown via GPS tracker and roamed throughout the hotel for hours before he approached the front desk. A hotel employee, who was the only employee working on a full capacity weekend, gave Jacquez Brown a room key and told him what room Latasha Brown was in, but never obtained photo identification or checked with her for authorization. Hotel security footage, photos and documentation included in this story was provided by Brown’s attorney, Justin Bamberg. Bamberg and Brown herself held a news conference on Thursday to discuss the lawsuit and their actions going forward. “I am asking for accountability from the hotel in regards to what has happened to me. My life has changed forever,” Latasha Brown said. “I have a very big fear of being in public; I could never ever go to another hotel alone ever again.” Documents state Latasha Brown was awakened from her sleep with someone on top of her, quickly realizing it was Jacquez Brown. For nearly five hours, she was allegedly tortured, scared for her life, bitten and manhandled. Hotel customers in the room next to Latasha Brown’s tried to get help from employees multiple times, reporting there was a woman in the room crying and begging for help. The lawsuit states the employee stated he would handle it, which is why the customers did not contact law enforcement. “Ms. Brown is sitting there wondering if anybody heard her cries, only to find out after the fact somebody did. They tried to help her multiple times and the hotel effectively said, ‘Kick rocks,’” Bamberg said. “For hours, she was held hostage in that room. Kidnapped, assaulted, strangled, hit and bitten; and worse than anything physical is the mental.” The next morning at around 8 a.m., Latasha Brown convinced Jacquez Brown that she had a work meeting and the two were seen leaving the room. Once in the hotel lobby, Brown ran away quickly, got into her car and drove away. Quickly after leaving, she flagged down an Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office deputy and told him exactly what happened. Documents state she suffered severe emotional trauma and physical injuries in the “horrific ordeal.” “Anything can happen to you once that door opens. I do want people to know that we got to make sure that we’re safe, even when we’re working on our exit plans,” Latasha Brown said. “I want people to be confident in who they trust, especially with their money. I didn’t go to that hotel for free. I paid them $187 for one night and that changed my life forever.” Court documents state Jacquez Brown pled guilty to kidnapping, domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, stalking and burglary in the first degree. He is currently serving a total possible sentence of 15 years, but after one year in prison, he will be on probation for five years. “This ain’t about him. He’s been held accountable; the criminal justice system worked. This is about Tru by Hilton Orangeburg and all these business people who care more about money than the safety of people like her and the safety of other women who enabled this,” Bamberg said. “If they didn’t give that man her room number and her key, she would have never been held hostage and treated like that,” he said. Following the incident, Tru by Hilton filed an internal incident report that confirmed the policies and procedures were not complied with and that security violations had taken place. The lawsuit also claims the hotel employee was not truthful in his account of what happened and that he was later fired. The lawsuit is seeking damages from Tru by Hilton Orangeburg and multiple other hotel management companies for failing to follow basic hotel safety standards regarding the unauthorized access to Brown’s hotel room, ignoring another hotel customer who reported the incident and undercapitalizing the hotel’s operations and purposefully understaffing the night shift to maximize profit and “stakeholder” financial returns. “I would never want another female to go through what I went through, another person, not even just the female, to be held captive in a place in public where you thought you were safe,” Latasha Brown said. “And then to know that people were trying to save you and that it just didn’t happen for you. The lawsuit also seeks to address the ongoing public safety crisis across the hotel industry. “This is not going to happen again in Orangeburg County, and if things go the way that they should, with naming hotels, this large franchise operator, this should never happen at another hotel that they’re involved in,” Bamberg said. Hilton Hotels responded to the lawsuit with the following statement: Tru by Hilton Orangeburg is an independently owned and operated property. As such, we are unable to comment on their behalf and have shared the inquiry with hotel management.
