The Econo Lodge near the intersection of Interstate 25 and State Highway 119 must pay $4.05 million after providing a room key to an unregistered guest who stabbed a woman in the face on January 4, 2023 according to multiple news sources. A Weld County jury determined the hotel staff was negligent in giving the man access to the room without verifying he was a registered guest.
The original incident occurred when 31-year-old Cody Czichos, the victim’s ex-boyfriend, was invited to the room of the victim, Nicole Gallegos, and her mother Carol Gonzalez. The mother and daughter kicked Czichos out of the hotel room when he was acting erratically. Later, the hotel staff provided Czichos with a room key. He threatened to kill Gallegos and stabbed her in the face. He “brutally stomped on Gallegos’ head, knocking out one of Gallegos’ teeth, chipping another, and causing a traumatic brain injury.” The lawsuit also states that Czichos “savagely kicked” Gallegos and broke eight of her ribs.
Czichos was quickly apprehended by the Weld County Sheriff’s Office after leaving the scene of the crime. He told officers that he “just lost it.” Czichos is currently serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty to attempted murder, assault, and trespassing in 2024.
The incident happened when Czichos came back to the hotel in the early morning hours after being kicked out of the room by the mother and daughter. Czichos asked the two staff members, a husband and a wife both employed by Econo Lodge, for a piece of paper and a pen. The employees witnessed Czichos writing expletives on the paper and muttering “ominously threatening” statements. One of the employees later told law enforcement that as a former drug addict, he could tell Czichos was intoxicated.
The other employee asked Czichos if he was alright, to which Czichos responded, “I just took a crap-ton of Xanax.” The lawsuit brief states that “based upon information and events Salacar and/or Tussey affirmatively admitted to observing, both Salacar and Tussey were aware that Czichos was, at a minimum, a threat to himself and those around him, including guests and employees of the Hotel, at the time he was milling about the Hotel lobby.”
The lawsuit brief refers to Czichos’ “disgruntled, disturbing, and intoxicated” behavior in the hotel lobby for 45 minutes to an hour. The front desk employees did not call authorities in response to this “alarming behavior.” At the conclusion of his time in the lobby, Czichos asked for a room key. The front desk staff did not ask Czichos for photo identification, they didn’t cross-check the room number with any name provided by Czichos, and they didn’t call the plaintiffs in the room to verify Czichos was a permitted guest.
“Czichos had been muttering ominous and threatening statements to himself clearly referencing plaintiffs while milling about the hotel’s lobby,” the lawsuit states.
$3 million of the damages are for Gallegos’ physical injuries and $1.05 million for emotional distress and “non-economic” damages, according to the Greeley Tribune.
