Marcus Alexander Cromartie wasn’t a normal hotel guest. He was accused of stealing a master key and robbing a hotel room Wednesday.
The owners of the Wyndham Hotel, at 2900 SW 13th St., reported to police that Cromartie, 35, of Gainesville, had stolen from several rooms at the hotel, according to a Gainesville Police arrest report.
Cromartie had been in the hotel Monday and obtained the master key for almost every room, the report said.
Cromartie used the key to enter a hotel room that he and Teresa Nicole Tugerson, 32, were staying in, the report said. Management told police the room was supposed to be empty.
Cromartie was caught on surveillance footage trying to enter multiple rooms, the report said.
At about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, he went into the general manager’s room and took a laptop that cost about $899, the report said.
About three hours later, he pawned the laptop at Oaks Pawn, at 2530 SW 34th St., for $150, the report said. Later that day, Cromartie and Tugerson were detained at the hotel.
He admitted to stealing and pawning the laptop because he was “hard-up for money,” the report said.
Tugerson was not charged.
Cromartie was charged with burglary of a dwelling, grand theft from $300 to $4,999, dealing in stolen property and giving false information during a pawn transaction, the report said.
He remains in the Alachua County Jail in lieu of a $45,000 bond.
Cromartie
