MORGANTOWN — A man suspected of robbing two hotels and sexually assaulting hotel employees has been arrested.
Tommie E. Hamlet-Mitchell, 45, of Morgantown, was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
He is accused of robbing the Quality Inn on Comfort Inn Drive, off U.S. 119, and sexually abusing female employees there.
First-degree robbery is a felony that carries a 10 year prison sentence and first-degree sexual abuse is punishable by one to five years in prison or not more than a $10,000 fine with one to five years in prison.
Hamlet-Mitchell was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court and is being held in the North Central Regional Jail in lieu of $70,000 bond.
According to court and police documents:
Just after 2 a.m., Wednesday, law enforcement were alerted to a robbery at the Quality Inn. The victim reported a man dressed in black wearing a white mask who spoke with an accent, was waiting at the front desk when she returned from the bathroom. The suspect was later identified as Hamlet-Mitchell.
She reported the suspect had an unidentified object in his hand and forced her to give him money from the cash register. The clerk was then forced into a side office where money from her purse and personal laptop were stolen.
Hamlet-Mitchell then removed the clerk’s pants and underware, fondled her butt, ordered her to the floor and had her count while he left.
On April 10 the Quality Inn was robbed by a suspect who matched the description of this robbery. In the April robbery a clerk was held-up with a paring knife that law enforcement recovered at the scene, a criminal complaint stated. After his arrest, law enforcement believed Hamlet-Mitchell was responsible for the April robbery as well.
During the first robbery the clerk was also forced into the side office where her pants were removed. The suspect also touched her vagina before forcing the clerk to the ground to count while he fled.
A car that appeared to be casing the hotel prior to the robbery returned to a Chevrolet Spark registered to a Madeline Circle apartment, off of Scott Avenue. Officers began staking out the apartment waiting for the vehicle to return.
Meanwhile, a cross-reference through MECCA showed the Spark was stopped by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department Monday and was driven by Hamlet-Mitchell.
About $400 and the laptop were stolen between the two robberies. The laptop was recovered during a consensual search of the Scott Avenue residence.
