Time: November 22, 2011 Location: A快捷 hotel outside the South Gate The suspect (in the red circle) entered the counter and subdued the cashier and the cleaner. The suspect (in the red circle) controlled the cleaner and then threatened the cashier with a knife to take the money.
According to reports by reporter Jia Chen, from last October until now, eight budget hotels have been robbed by a black-clad man wielding a knife. In the surveillance footage, the figure of the black-clad man has always troubled the police officers handling the case.
In less than one minute, he took 4000 yuan
The surveillance video inside a budget hotel outside the South Gate in Xi'an showed that at 3:34 AM on November 22, 2011, the cashier and the cleaner were chatting inside the hotel's front desk while using a heater.
Suddenly, a black-clad man rushed into the hotel lobby, holding a knife in his left hand and supporting himself on the cash register with his right hand. He leapt up onto the counter. Inside the counter, the cashier and the cleaner tried to dodge in panic, but the cleaner was tripped by a chair. The black-clad man jumped over the counter, stepping on the cleaner, while pointing the knife towards the cashier who was nearby. Quickly, according to the black-clad man's demands, the cashier opened the drawer of the counter, and the black-clad man took the cash and left swiftly. The entire process lasted less than a minute. After checking, it was found that the hotel had been robbed of more than 4000 yuan.
Surveillance video from the "People on Journey" budget hotel in Beilin District: At 4:55 AM on December 13 last year, the cashier was resting inside the counter. At the time, only the security guard and the cashier were on duty at the budget hotel. Soon, two knife-wielding men appeared in the surveillance footage; one pointed a knife at the cashier, while the other rushed into the counter. The cashier opened two drawers, and the man took a stack of bills from the drawers before they both quickly left.
Meanwhile, several budget hotels in Xi'an were robbed. Based on the surveillance video, the police confirmed that one of the knife-wielding black-clad men was the main culprit behind the robbery of the budget hotels.
Encouraging "strangers" to rob with him
After the incident, the Beilin Public Security Bureau formed a special task force. After investigation and comparison, it was found that suspect Zhao bore a resemblance to the black-clad man suspected of robbing the budget hotel.
Zhao, 31 years old, from Fengzhou Town in Feng County, had been detained for four years as a juvenile, and later sentenced to eight years in prison for rape and other crimes. He started using drugs in 2007.
On January 9 this year, the Beilin police arrested suspect Zhao at an inn in Yanta District.
Upon interrogation, Zhao admitted to the fact that he had robbed the "People on Journey" budget hotel alone in the early hours of December 13 last year and also robbed a budget hotel outside the South Gate on November 22 last year.
Zhao said that his drug addiction was severe, requiring at least 1000 yuan per day. To raise funds for drugs, since last October, he participated in eight incidents of armed robbery at budget hotels, taking more than 40,000 yuan in total, all of which was used for drugs.
Regarding the information about his accomplice in the robbery on December 13 last year, he claimed to know nothing. "He said that he met this person in an ATM room inside the South Gate that night. At the time, the person was sleeping. He went over and chatted with him, learning that the person spoke with a northern Shaanxi accent, was in his twenties, unemployed, and originally planned to return home for the New Year. Subsequently, this man decided to join him in the robbery..." said the investigating officer.
Suspects mostly choose to commit crimes late at night
Yesterday, the police officers of the Chang'an Road Police Station of the Beilin Branch of the Public Security Bureau stated that the suspects mostly chose to commit crimes late at night when there were fewer people in the hotels. The suspects acted quickly, with the fastest incident taking only 28 seconds, and the rest of the cases taking approximately one minute each.
The police introduced that as the Spring Festival approaches, it is a high incidence period for cases. Merchants should take precautions, increase manpower during night shifts, and in case of emergencies, call 110. On-site personnel should avoid direct confrontation with the suspects as much as possible and pay attention to preserving evidence.
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