Chicago police are investigating after a Streeterville hotel guest reported that an online rendezvous ended with him being threatened with a Taser and robbed early today.
It’s the second time this month that the same scenario has played out in a downtown hotel. And police arrested the offender in the first case, but the victim decided not to pursue charges given the nature of his “encounter” with the robber.
It’s not yet known if the two cases are related.
Police said a 42-year-old man invited an online Romeo to come to his room at the W Lakeshore Hotel, 644 North Lake Shore Drive, around 12:30 a.m. today. The men met at the hotel and then went to the victim’s room where the offender pulled out a Taser and demanded his property.
The offender was last seen heading westbound on Ontario, according to hotel workers.
Police said the victim described the robber as a black man with a tattoo on his face who wore a peach-colored jacket.
This morning’s robbery is nearly identical to a hold-up on Jan. 6 in a room at the Cambria Hotel, 32 West Randolph.
In that case, a 60-year-old man told police that an online hook-up came to his hotel room, shocked him with a Taser, and stole his wallet around 8:38 p.m.
Police managed to find the offender nearby and they detained him after a brief foot chase, police said at the time. But the victim got cold feet given the nature of his meet-up and the police had to let the offender go.
