Crime & Safety

Police: Woman Robbed at Gunpoint in Springfield Hotel Room

Robber reportedly posed as room service, tied victim with duct tape.

More details have emerged about last Sunday's report of an .

Springfield police say a woman staying at Springfield’s was robbed in her room at gunpoint and bound with duct tape by a man posing as a room service attendant.

Police say that shortly before 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, a 5’10” black male wearing a red hooded sweatshirt knocked on a female hotel guest’s door, claiming to be from room service. The 30-year-old Monmouth Beach resident opened the door, and was pushed to the ground. The man brandished a handgun and bound the woman with duct tape before making off with what police describe as a “large sum” of money.

After the assailant left, the woman was able to free herself from the tape to call hotel reception, who alerted the police.

Police officers from Springfield, Mountainside and the Union County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit searched for the suspect, who was observed fleeing from a rear door of the hotel and heading into the condo complex under construction behind the hotel. 

Police later determined the suspect took the victim's car keys and apparently used the vehicle alarm controller to locate and steal the victim's white 2009 Audi sedan parked in the lot.

The next morning, Irvington Police found the vehicle parked and locked on Gray Street. The car was turned over to Springfield Police detectives for a print and forensic examination.

Police noted that this was a stand-alone incident and that similar robberies have not taken place at the hotel or at other hotels/motels along Route 22. An investigation is ongoing to determine why the victim was chosen.

“This crime does not appear to be a random act that was committed against any hotel guest and instead it appears the victim was specifically targeted," Springfield Detective Sgt. Judd Levenson said in an email.


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