The van allegedly used by the "magazine salesmen," outside the Heritage Inn

On December 24th of last year the Reader published an article about an overly aggressive solicitor who’d been knocking on doors at all hours of the day and night.

The "menacing" solicitor

Since the article posted, complaints continue to fly in via social media platforms and community-watch groups where residents routinely alert each other if he comes to their door.

On January 9th, a resident reported on social media that she was home alone with her children and the suspicious guy was at her door. That’s when two O.B. residents decided enough was enough.

“Isaac and I happened to be discussing the story when a report came over the police scanner that someone was being harassed on Emerson Street by a solicitor,” Dylan explained, “so I hauled ass over there hoping to catch him in action, but when I arrived no one was there.”

At the same time, Isaac was out, going from motel to motel looking for “the” solicitor. Not only did he find the guy, but he also discovered a whole hotbed of highly suspect behavior.

“Sir Isaac and I met up briefly before parting ways,” Dylan continued. “He said he was going to look into a few hotels in the area, with the description and photo of the guy who has been menacing the area. Within a few minutes, Sir Isaac called me saying he found the guy at the Heritage Inn [3333 Channel Way, near the I-8 on-ramp]. I rushed over there and found Isaac frustrated because the manager was telling him to leave.”

While there, they learned of two different teams of solicitors staying at the hotel and were approached by a couple employees from the Sierra Solutions soap company.

“They insisted their team wasn’t doing anything bad,” Dylan said. “We showed them the photo [of the menacing solicitor] and their demeanor instantly changed. They said he has been wreaking havoc around there and everyone was scared of him…. As this was happening, drug-addicted people started swarming around us, at least two were on the ground at my feet — looking for crack that wasn’t there. Others began eyeballing us. One guy even asked us for a ride."

The Sierra Solutions employees directed them to the “menacing" solicitor’s room.

“In front of the room there were vehicles, including a motorhome. We photographed the license plates, but as we were heading away, a security guard came to me and asked what was going on. I showed him the photo of who it was we were looking for. Instantly he got upset. Said that guy is a piece of shit and just about spit on my phone! He said he also would help but was fearful of hotel management and needed his job.

"He confirmed what room the guy was staying in, but we hightailed it out of there after we got pictures of the room and vehicles. We both decided it was best to leave at this point. We were just blown away by all we saw going on at that hotel — it was like a real-life zombie scene at 11 p.m.”

Of the two teams currently staying at the Heritage Inn, the menacing solicitor is said to belong to the magazine sales crew, which, based on what residents have reported, is not legitimate.

The SeaWorld Heritage Inn reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp, meanwhile, include numerous complaints about prostitution, drugs, homeless people, bedbugs, roaches, incompetent staff, excessive police activity, people parking and living in cars and RVs in the lot, etc.