Man Accused Of Robbing Midtown Wyndham Hotel Guests Hides In Nearby Office Building
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A section of West 35th Street was shut down Tuesday morning after a suspected hotel thief barricaded himself in an office building.
The incident occurred a block away from Penn Station in the Garment District, CBS 2's Matt Kozar reported.
According to police sources, a robbery took place at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, at around 8:30 a.m. Viktor Lofgren, a Swedish tourist, said he woke up to find a man in his room trying to steal his things.
Man Accused Of Robbing Midtown Wyndham Hotel Hides In Nearby Office Building
"He had my watch and my wallet, and my friend's cellphone and his wallet as well," Lofgren told Kozar.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the man run out of the hotel, onto the street and into an office building next door at 225 West 35th St.
"I actually was getting breakfast this morning, and I saw a gentleman running," one witness told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "I was looking around. I thought it was rather strange."
"A guy ran from the hotel here -- tried to make a great escape," said construction worker CJ Stewart. "Silly he stops in 225 here and hasn't come out since."
Police evacuated the office building and checked the floors with canines, but they let workers back in after their search came up empty.
Then around noon, a woman found the suspect hiding in a fifth-floor bathroom, where the offices of fashion company Nanette Lepore are located.
"One of our cutters found him in the bathroom, opened up the bathroom and he was there," said Beatrix Perez, who works at Nanette Lepore. "(They) called the police. The police came and took the guy out."
The suspect was taken out of the building on a stretcher and to an awaiting ambulance, Diamond reported. Police said the man was drunk, Kozar reported.
The NYPD doesn't know if the robbery was random or if the two Swedish tourists were targets. The stolen items were returned to the victims.
Police have not released the suspect's name, but they say he faces robbery charges.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
