Man breaks into hotel room and steals $2K worth of watches

A man conned a hotel worker into giving him a key to a room he wasn’t staying in. Then, he robbed the people who were staying there.

Collier County Sheriff’s deputies say what happened at a hotel on September 15 should not happen at all. A clerk gave a key to a man without checking his ID. This is a significant breach of every guest’s safety and security.

Rich Kolko is WINK News’ Safety and Security Specialist. “The hotel has an interest and concern in your security. It’s important for their business, so they certainly have a set of rules and protocols that they’re expected to follow. And they expect all of their employees to follow and clearly in this case if they gave a key to somebody without identifying them, they made a mistake,” said Kolko.

CCSO deputies arrested Thomas James White after using a room key to steal four watches worth almost $2,000 and a checkbook.

Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko has tips on what to do every time you check into a hotel room. “Set the room up, so you know where things are. A rubber door stopper is actually the best thing you can have when you’re in a hotel room,” Kolko said.

He also recommends using the security latch on the door When you leave the room so no one can open the door. Also, if you leave the room, don’t leave your valuable. But, do turn on your television. The noise is often enough to keep people away.

You can often buy rubber door stoppers for less than $10.

Thomas James White could face grand theft and burglary charges.