Local

Woman says she was raped, beaten at west Charlotte motel

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police said two men were arrested after a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted at a west Charlotte motel.

Officers told Channel 9 the woman said she was staying a few doors down from Andra Hammonds at the Southern Comfort Inn when three men sexually assaulted her, and one man beat her up.

"We were getting ready for work and we kept hearing 'Help! Help!' and we came outside and it was a girl screaming that she had been raped,” a neighbor said.

Police arrested Hammonds and Omar Crittington.

A third man has not been identified.

(Andra Hammonds)

"It was just crazy. It was just very surprising with it being so quiet over here,” the neighbor said.

Neighbors said the victim’s family is one of a few who lives at the inn because finding affordable housing elsewhere in Charlotte has been a challenge.

"This was just a place that I came because you couldn’t find another place,” the neighbor said. “You know, places are so expensive, especially for a single mother."

(Omar Crittington)

Channel 9 asked the neighbor if she was afraid, knowing something such as this could happen.

"Yes, I was very afraid,” she said. “I have a daughter, so I was very afraid."

The management told Channel 9 that Hammonds had been staying at the inn for a few weeks and they hadn't had any issues with him.

Detectives have not said where the victim met the men or how she got into Hammond's room.

“My heart breaks for the victim and any man that can cross the line. He will have his day in court,” neighbor Dawn Sewell said.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com: