Flushing Motel Robbed By Man Pretending To Have A Gun: NYPD

FLUSHING, QUEENS -- Police are searching for a man who forced a Queens motel employee to hand over hundreds of dollars by pretending he had a gun.

The man acted as a customer when he first arrived at the Flushing Motel just after 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 24 and asked a 21-year-old clerk if there were any available rooms. He left the hotel at Linden Place and came back minutes later with a large suitcase, asking if he could store it in the back room, police said.

That was when the situation turned ugly, with the man demanding money and indicating he had a gun, police said. He took around $580 in cash and fled the hotel.

The NYPD released motel surveillance footage of the man, who was last seen carrying the large suitcase and wearing a scarf covering his face, a dark hooded jacket, and a black hat underneath.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).