

A man staying at a Moscone Center-area hotel was robbed at gunpoint Thursday, following an altercation over a cell phone charger.

Police were called to a hotel on the 800 block of Howard Street, which is between Fourth and Fifth Streets, at 9:45 p.m. Thursday, on reports of a theft. When they arrived, they learned that a 27-year-old man staying at the hotel had been robbed, first of a cell phone charger then of his cash.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the hotel guest says that he was at the hotel when a male suspect in his 30s asked to see his cell phone charger.

After the victim showed him the charger, the suspect walked away with it. The suspect then exited the hotel and got into a vehicle, police say.

When the victim followed, demanding his charger back, the suspect "pointed a handgun at [the victim] and told [the victim] to give him everything."

In fear for his life, the victim "tossed his money" at the suspect and ran back into the hotel.

The Intercontinental San Francisco hotel is located at 888 Howard Street, making it a possible scene of the crime (as a matter of policy, SFPD typically doesn't name businesses at which crimes occur). When contacted by SFist, a spokesperson for the hotel declined comment on the incident.

The victim was not injured in the attack, police say. The suspect successfully fled the area following the crime, and remains on the loose as of Friday afternoon.