Fredericksburg.com - FREE HOTEL ROOM AT A HIGH PRICE

search local
Follow us on Twitter Find us on Facebook

Get a printer-friendly version of this page. E-mail this story to a friend.
Make a post about this story on FredTalk.

FREE HOTEL ROOM AT A HIGH PRICE
Man's motel caper earns trip to jail
Date published: 1/8/2009

BY KEITH EPPS

A man police said may have spent three nights at a local hotel without paying got some more free lodging Tuesday--in jail.

Fredericksburg police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said an employee at the Hospitality House at 2801 Plank Road first noticed the man hanging around the hotel on Saturday.

Over the next few days, Bledsoe said, he was seen by different employees at various locations in the hotel, including leaving a vacant guest room.

Some chased him from the premises, while others were told, and apparently convinced, by the man that he was a guest there.

Hotel officials became more suspicious Monday when they found a pile of personal items stashed in an executive conference room.

Someone called the police the next day when the man was spotted again. The man ran when confronted, and police were told that he had been last seen in the area of Borders Books Music & Cafe in Central Park.

An officer found the man there and took him back to the hotel, where he was identified as the intruder.

Bledsoe said two room cards were found in his possession, along with some toiletries that came from the hotel. It was not clear how he obtained the room cards.

Derek K. Rose, 35, whose last known address was in Fredericksburg, was charged with breaking and entering, defrauding an innkeeper, possession of burglary tools and petty larceny.

He was placed in Rappahannock Regional Jail.

Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com



Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 1/8/2009



Most recent reader comments:

1 comment has been posted. (Sorted in reverse order, with most recent post at the top.)

Display comments on this page. | Sort:

PLEASE READ: These reader comments are not moderated. Each user is solely responsible for any message (s)he posts here. The Free Lance-Star does not endorse the views expressed within these comments. All users who post to this Web site must agree to the terms of the FredTalk User Agreement. We rely on our readers to police themselves, and report any content that violates our User Agreement. In accordance with our User Agreement, we reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason, and will restrict access of registered users who repeatedly violate our terms. Any reader can report inappropriate content by clicking the "Report this post to admins" link at the bottom of each comment. You need not be registered to report a post.

its simple how he got the cards (posted by jaeshuan , Jan. 8, 2009 12:57 pm)    0 likes
just last month a newschannel reported on how easy it was to go to a hotel and say youre locked out of a room. of all the hotels they tested (5) only 1 asked for ID.

What do you think?
Enter your FredTalk username and password to post a comment on this story. If you are registered on FredTalk or another part of this site, use that login here. Otherwise, you can just REGISTER here... .

Posting guidelines

1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
2. Please avoid offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or defamatory language.
3. Agree to read & follow THE RULES.
4. Use the "report to admins" link for posts which violate the rules. 5. Keep it on-topic. Posts which contribute nothing of value to the conversation will be deleted.

Username:
Password:

Post title:


Please keep it brief (Limit is 512 characters). Please note, attempts to circumvent this limit by making
multiple posts back-to-back (ex: 'continued', 'part1, 2', etc) will be deleted.

Please make sure CAPS LOCK is off. Posts in ALL CAPS will be deleted.)


By checking this box, you agree to the terms of the FredTalk User agreement.









The Free Lance-Star fredericksburg.com 93.3 WFLS Print Innovators Classic Rock 96.9 99.3 The Vibe wntx radio