A thief surprised two Swedish tourists he tried to rob Tuesday in the Wingate Hotel in Midtown Manhattan by offering an alternative to calling the police, which was to beat him up.
Viktor Lofgren and Andreas Mansson arrived in New York on Monday night, and had only been at the hotel for less than a day when they woke up to the thief, who was identified as Josue Alicea, trying to steal their wallets, watches and cellphones, according to The New York Post. The incident took place at 7:30 a.m. on West 35th street.
Lofgren noticed Alicea first, waking up to see him standing next to his bed. He said he grabbed the thief and asked him where his wallet and watch were, which was followed by Mansson waking up to see his friend shaking Alicea. The struggle caused the cellphones and a $3,000 Breitling watch to fall out of the thief's pockets.
Alicea was looking for any way to keep the cops out of the situation, even offering himself as a punching bag to Lofgren and Mansson, The New York Post reported.
"We said we were calling the police and he said, 'No, please. Beat me up. Do whatever you want. Don't call the police,'" Lofgren, 24, said.
Mansson, 35, also described the situation, saying that the thief was panicking.
"I didn't want him in the room," Mansson said. "I was standing at the door ... I was screaming for help."
Alicea then fled the 10th-floor hotel room and was chased by the two men, who lost sight of him inside 235 West 25th Street, WABC-TV reported. The thief would later be spotted in a building close to the hotel, and was arrested by police before being brought out on a stretcher and taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Authorities closed the street down in order to investigate the incident.
Alicea faced several charges for the attempted robbery: burglary, criminal possession of stolen property, and criminal possession of a stolen substance among them, The New York Post reported. He was reported by police sources to have crystal meth in his pocket and to have allegedly been high when he was found. He spent Tuesday night waiting for arraignment.
"This is my first time in New York," Mansson said. "I'm really in shock. I'm shaking."
