Bronx armed robbery ring luring men to hotels in fake hookup scheme

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Credit: NYPD

NEW YORK - The NYPD is searching for three suspects connected to an armed robbery ring in the Bronx that has been luring men to hotels before tying up their victims and escaping with cash and clothing. According to authorities, the thieves struck at least five times in July.

Prior to each incident, police say the suspects connect a man with an alleged woman via Facebook and agree to meet up with them at a motel. The victim would then go to the motel at the agreed-upon time, where he would meet with an unidentified woman. 

Once both were inside the hotel room, the woman would instruct the man to take a shower, and while he is in the bathroom, she lets another woman and a man into the room. 

When the man exits the bathroom, the two new people in the hotel room both point guns at the victim and threaten to shoot him.

The three suspects would then tie up the victim using duct tape and take his personal property, including cash and cellphones, before fleeing the location with the victim's clothing. 

The five robberies occurred on the following dates and times: 

• July 7 at around 6 p.m, inside the Wheeler Hotel Bronx, at 1162 Wheeler Avenue. The victim was a 31-year-old man.
• July 16 at around 12:40 a.m. at the Crown Motor Inn at 3320 Boston Road. The victim was a 31-year-old man.
• July 17 at around 3 p.m. at the Friendly Motor Inn at 1119 Gun Hill Road. The victim was a 48-year-old man.
• July 24 at around 8:30 p.m. at the Van Cortlandt Motel at 6393 Broadway. The victim was a 46-year-old man.
• July 26 at around 11 p.m. at the Sheridan Hotel at 1440 Sheridan Boulevard. The victim was a 45-year-old man.

None of the victims reportedly suffered any serious injuries. 

The suspects are described as:

• A roughly 25-year-old woman with a heavy build, a medium complexion, black hair, tattoos on both arms and wearing eyeglasses. Police say this is the individual the victim allegedly communicates with on Facebook before the robberies.
• A roughly 40-year-old woman with a heavy build, a medium complexion, and black hair, standing around 4 feet, 11 inches tall, and weighing about 140 pounds.
• A roughly 25-year-old man with a medium build, dark complexion ad black hair, standing around 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing around 170 pounds.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents 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 Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

Police say all calls are strictly confidential.