Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

NANUET – A gunman tied up two female employees early Friday before stealing a safe, computer and about $400 from the Hilton Garden Inn, Clarkstown police said.

Detectives suspect the robbery might be tied to similar ones across the region — including the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in Ramapo last week.

At the Route 59 Hilton Garden Inn near the state Thruway, two front desk workers' hands and feet were zip-tied by a man brandishing a gray semi-automatic pistol, said Officer Peter Walker, the department's spokesman.

The gunman came into the hotel at 1:59 a.m. asking for a room, Walker said, then forced the two woman into a back office. He pried a small safe from the wall and stole a computer, a purse from one of the women, and an estimated $400 from the front desk cash drawer.

No one was seriously injured. The women estimated they were tied up for 20 to 30 minutes before one of them freed herself and called 911, Walker said.

The robber is described as black, 6 feet tall, 30 to 35, wearing a skull cap, gray sweat suit, blue jeans, black boots and with a scar on his face.

In the Howard Johnson's robbery, police found a front desk employee bound on the floor of a bathroom at 1:45 a.m. June 4. That robber was described as about 6 feet tall, weighing 190 to 200 pounds. Ramapo police said he fled in a car driven by an accomplice.

Anyone with information on the Hilton Garden Inn robbery can call the Clarkstown Police Department at 845-639-5800. Anyone with information on the Howard Johnson's robbery should call the Ramapo Police Department at 845-357-2400.