Gunman, lookout man rob Cedar Rapids hotel

UPDATE: Two masked men robbed a Cedar Rapids hotel late Tuesday evening and remain on the loose.

Police were dispatched around 11:45 p.m. to Days Inn and Suites, 2215 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, when the hotel clerk reported the incident. The clerk told police a man with a handgun demanded money. The other man stayed farther back, acting as a lookout, police said.

Hotel owner Pankaj Patel said the men got about $185 and were seen on surveillance video running east from the building. He said he was thankful no one was injured in the hold-up.

“Ten seconds,” Patel said. “It happened that quick.”

Surveillance video that captured the incident was immediately turned over investigators, Patel said. No arrests had been made in the case by midday Wednesday.

Patel said the two men initially tried to get inside using a back entrance, but when they found it locked, came in through the two automatic sliding doors at the main entrance. Once they got through the doors, they pulled down masks, he said.

The man who demanded the money held the gun near the counter for the clerk to see, Patel said. The male clerk had just arrived for work. Even after the robbery, he finished his shift, Patel said.

“He's a tough guy,” Patel said.

Police said both men were described as black men wearing dark-colored hooded sweat shirts and other dark clothing. The gunman stood around 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, according to a police report.

Police have not solved two other robberies in northern Cedar Rapids in recent months. On Nov. 18, two men robbed Check ‘N Go, 124 Collins Rd. NE. On Dec. 14, two men held up ChecKing Payday Advance, 600 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE. While there are some similarities in the three incidents, police have not said publicly if they are connected.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call police at (319) 286-5491 or Linn County CrimeStoppers at 1-800-CS-CRIME.

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