New York, NY – A hotel front desk worker was robbed early Monday morning by a man who asked to use the phone to make a phone call.
Police said the incident that took place at the Hotel Hashtag at 30 East 98th Street in Brooklyn left the reciptionist with minor injuries.
According to police, at around 7:34 am, the suspect entered the lobby of the hotel and started a conversation with the hotel receptionist at the front desk.
“The individual began to ask the employee questions about the hotel and then asked her if he could use her cellphone,” police said.
Instead, the employee offered to use the landline phone at the desk, but the suspect insisted on using her cellphone.
At that time, the suspect pulled out a gun and grabbed the employee’s arm, forcibly removing a ring from her finger.
“He then threatened to shoot her if she did not hand over her cellphone. He then forcibly removed her iPhone 14 from her hand and fled the location on a black bicycle, heading southbound on East 98 Street,” according to the NYPD.
The victim sustained only minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene. The stolen ring was valued at $300. The stolen cellphone was valued at $900.
The individual being sought is described as a male with a dark complexion, a thin build, last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a white face mask, a neon green traffic vest, black pants and white Nike sneakers.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.