Man running treatment program at Charlotte hotel in dispute with some tenants
A man running a substance abuse treatment program at a north Charlotte hotel was arrested May 20 after he tried to remove a tenant from her room.
The woman and a child were asleep when Cedric Dean, the man running the program, knocked at her door at 10:30 p.m. on May 12 to try and get her to leave, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department affidavit said.
The woman “stated that when she opened the door, she advised Dean to leave her alone,” the affidavit said. When she “attempted to shut the door, Dean forced himself into the residence and began a verbal altercation.”
The lease for the nonprofit Heal Charlotte ended in April, according to Queen City News. Dean took over and began a substance abuse treatment program called the HELP program, which stands for Heal, Empower, Love and Protect. But some families said they were forced to leave the property after he took over, Spectrum News in Charlotte reported.
Dean disputed what was described in the police affidavit in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. When he took over the hotel lease, he said, Heal Charlotte residents were still living at the hotel. He offered those residents $1,000 to move out since there was no other plan in place to relocate them, he said.
The affidavit said the woman who called the police on Dean for entering her room was also offered $1,000 to leave the hotel. But she declined, court records say. She recorded the altercation with Dean and showed it to police, wanting to press charges.
A CMPD officer called Dean, who told the officer he wanted the woman out of the hotel and offered her money to leave, the affidavit said. The officer told Dean that, under North Carolina law, the woman was a resident at the hotel and would need to be evicted to be forced to leave.
“Dean then became verbally agitated on the phone and stated, ‘If I come to the property, you’re going to have to arrest me,’” the officer’s affidavit said. “Due to the escalation of the conversation and me advising Dean on the legal standards, I then hung up the phone on Dean.”
Police arrested Dean on Tuesday on a charge of misdemeanor breaking or entering.
But Dean said that wasn’t accurate, especially since he paid the woman twice the amount he paid to other Heal Charlotte tenants.
“She told the police officer that she wanted $2,000 ... I paid her $2,000,” Dean said. “Then a few days after I paid her, I was notified by the police department I had a warrant for my arrest.
“I never forced myself in. When I knocked on the door, she opened the door. I was standing in the doorway. I called the police — me — Cedric Dean, called the police,” Dean said. “I stood in the doorway, called the police and told the police that she was putting her child in harm’s way.”
Dean was released under a $2,500 unsecured bond.
Dean sat next to City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown on Thursday at a press conference where she addressed reporters’ questions about federal charges against her of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud used to falsely obtain pandemic relief loans.
Tenant lawsuit
Some families moved into the hotel at 5415 Equipment Drive to take part in the Heal Charlotte housing program. Other tenants included some people who were moved out of poor conditions at the Lamplighter Inn, a hotel in west Charlotte, after city officials closed it in the winter.
For many in Charlotte experiencing homelessness, the only alternative to sleeping on the street is renting a hotel room. Nonprofit organizations and city leaders have viewed former hotels as locations for housing services.
And when families were moved out of the Lamplighter Inn last December, many were moved into other hotels around Charlotte. But some hotel chains and cities in the Charlotte region have started adopting policies to curb people from staying at hotels long-term.
Another tenant at the hotel, Lekershia McMullens filed a lawsuit Thursday against several people, including Dean. McMullens alleged she was harassed by Dean and the others and had her privacy invaded in an attempt to get her to leave the hotel.
Dean and Shawn Ahmad, the owner of the hotel also named in the complaint, said they were unaware of the lawsuit. The pair denied McMullens’ allegations after learning what she said in the document.
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
