Local Motel Shooting - Robber & Victim dead

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fmrmarine

Inactive
I haven't posted in a while, but this story made should serve as a reminder to all to be vigilant and use good judgement when traveling. Here's the link: http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=7434134&nav=menu37_3

Don't bust me up if the link doesn't work properly. I'm not an internet wizard. In a nutshell, a guy from out of town here for a job interview with the power company checked in to a Motel 6 in a not-so-nice part of town. Four thugs, two of which had guns, knocked on his door, and he answered it, with his pistol in hand. A gunfight ensued resulting in the death of the victim and one would-be robber. Two of the remaining three robbers are in custody and the other is still at large.

Bottom line: Having a weapon is no guarantee whatsoever of surviving an encounter. Had this individual not answered his motel door for people he did not know, he may still be alive.

Stay safe,

FmrMarine
 
You may have additional information about this, but the story you linked to doesn't state that the victim answered the door when the 4 robbers knocked. It says that he was "approached at his motel room". "Approached" sounds like he may have been leaving or entering at the time?

If that is the case, it may have been somewhat unavoidable, except to lock oneself in the hotel room and dare not venture out or open the door...
 
Yes, Jay. You are correct. The "unofficial" word is that they knocked. In fact, the robber who was killed was wanted for a similar crime earlier this year. Of course, with the details still sketchy, it's hard to know for sure what actually happened as witnesses have been hard to come by.

Regards,

FmrMarine
 
I travel quite a bit for business. I have always felt that the approach to my motel room is the part of my travels, that is most fraught with danger.
I am at my most vigilant, and am always armed, with my hand on my concealed weapon.
Never, ever open the door to answer a knock, when you are not expecting anyone.
When possible, I book a room in a facility that has the rooms indoors, and has limited access at night, (only through the front door). That way at least the desk guy sees who is entering the place.
 
I always stay at a good hotel on company dime, when travelling off company I use my motorcycle and camper and camp at a good place like a KOA. Only had one problem once in St Loius at a gas station. In 30 years or more of doing this.
 
As a sales rep...

...I drove somewhere around 2 million miles and spent way too many nights in motels and hotels throughout the mid west. I agree, approaching a motel room is a time to be wary. Personally, I preferred a room I could drive up to and park in front of my door. That way I could avoid unexpected encounters. The only really dangerous situations I ever encountered was either in a parking lot or in an elevator, both times in hotels versus motels.

The first encounter was when I had to leave the hotel to retrieve a document from my vehicle. It was just at dusk and I was hurrying to get my paperwork done when I walked up on a mugging. A gang of 5 or 6 teens had an elderly guy on the ground beating him with a baseball bat. Being unarmed, all I could do was retreat. The other instance I was in a big city hotel. I got in an empty elevator on the 12th floor on the way to the lobby. The elevator stopped on the 5th floor and 2 drunks got on. As soon as the door closed one of the guys says to me "I think I'm going to whup your <expletive deleted>" and threw a punch. I grabbed him in a bear hug and hung on keeping his body between me and the 2nd guy. After what seemed to be an eternity, the door opened and we were at the lobby which was pretty crowded. I shoved the dude out the door and he and his friend took off.

Motels and hotels can be dangerous in other ways as well. On check in, they will often want a credit card AND a driver's license which is all the information a crook needs to own your identity.

In Albany it looks like the cops think it may have been something like a dope deal gone bad. Ordinarily you wouldn't think a guy staying in a Motel 6 while looking for a job would be a target for robbers. just my .02
 
Motels and hotels can be dangerous in other ways as well. On check in, they will often want a credit card AND a driver's license which is all the information a crook needs to own your identity.
Click to expand...

Several years ago when my usual motel in one small city was full, I was directed to another one nearby which was not a very nice establishment, but was the only other option. The clerk asked to see my driver's license and said he was required to make a copy of it for security purposes. Having read somewhere that you should never allow this I refused, and was denied a room. I offered to show it to him in order to confirm identification, but he said management required a copy. I drove more than twenty miles to a state resort park instead. Was I overly paranoid?
 
damn.....sucks to see that the victim had to die also.....

I'm sure he could have went about this in a smarter way, to avoid opening the door and avoid confrontation....

but in any case, sucks for the victim. If I am ever a victim of a robbery, and god willing if I am armed, if I do get shot, I hope I can shoot back and take every one of those suckas with me before I breathe my last breath....

RIP to the victim
 
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