The Roanoke Rapids Police Department is currently investigating complaints received about the Carolina Inn, Captain Andy Jackson said this morning.

“The Roanoke Rapids Police Department is very aware of local complaints from citizens in reference to the Carolina Inn. We have stepped up selective enforcement in that area and at this moment we are investigating complaints about that area.”

Jackson said the police department has received several complaints about the motel on Jackson Street in the wake of the suspicious death investigation of Chris Lynn Johnston last month. “We have made contact with the owner and we are working diligently to resolve those issues and complaints.”

Jackson said the police department also continues to investigate Johnston's death and is still awaiting official results from the medical examiner's office.

An autopsy on Johnston, 49, of Roanoke Rapids, was performed last month, but the police department has declined to discuss preliminary results until they are put on paper.

Around 2:35 a.m. on January 13 police and EMS responded to room 227 of the Carolina Inn after receiving a 911 call that Johnston was unresponsive and had fallen.

The man was not breathing and did not have a pulse when EMS and police arrived. CPR was started and Johnston was taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

Family members reported when they went to pick up his belongings several people at the motel told them they should have police look at this matter closely. The report notes that people “were acting weird” and that family members knew when Johnston went to the motel he had $500 in cash in his pocket but after going through his belongings upon his death he did not have a lot of money on him.

Jackson said the detective division responded, processed the area and have done extensive interviews. At this point Johnston's death has not been ruled a homicide.