Police are investigating whether three hotel robberies that occurred minutes apart Monday night, two in Waukegan and one in Lake Bluff, are related, officials said.
Three men entered the Best Inns of America, 31 N. Green Bay Road, at about 11 p.m. Monday, according to Waukegan Police Capt. Donald Johnson. A clerk behind the check-in desk turned around to find one of the men pointing a gun at her, Johnson said.
The man, described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, in his early 20s and wearing black clothing, walked behind the counter and demanded money from the register, Johnson said. He took $40 from the clerk’s purse, Johnson said. In all, the thieves made off with about $500, he said.
Johnson said the clerk described the other two men as stocky and dressed in black, Johnson said.
The three men fled east behind the hotel, where police believe they were picked up and driven away, Johnson said.
Moments later, the Best Western at Green Bay Road and Grand Avenue in Waukegan was robbed, according to Lt. Fred Heidecke of the Lake County sheriff’s office. Heidecke said the men fled in a car after taking an undetermined amount of money.
At 11:15 p.m., three men entered the By the Way Motel, 123 N. Skokie Highway, in unincorporated Lake Bluff, Heidecke said. One of the men pointed a handgun at the hotel manager and demanded that he empty his cash register, he said. A second man pointed a pistol at the manager’s head, he said.
The description of the suspects matched that of the suspects in the first robbery, Heidecke said.
The men, who fled in a car, made off with $900 in cash, $480 in jewelry taken from the manager, and $140 in electronics, Heidecke said.