Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 5:16 p.m.
Guest of Reds' Chapman robbed at Pittsburgh hotel
Sign up for Sports headlines
PITTSBURGH — Police were searching for a man who used cloth napkins to tie up and rob a female guest of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman inside his downtown Pittsburgh hotel room.
Police were called to the Omni William Penn Hotel after 10 p.m. Tuesday after other guests heard the woman screaming. The woman was identified only as a 26-year-old from Silver Spring, Md.
The woman told the police the man knocked on the door claiming to be a maintenance worker sent to fix her toilet before he demanded various items in the room, tied her up, then stole jewelry, clothes, a notebook computer, credit cards and identification. Police said some of the property belonged to the man assigned to the room. Police did not identify him, but the team said it was Chapman.
The 24-year-old Chapman defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a six-year, $30.25 million deal with the Reds in January 2010.
The team did not make Chapman available for interviews before Wednesday's game at PNC Park, the last of a three-game series with the Pirates. Team officials declined comment, other than to say they're cooperating with the investigation.
In a news release, police identified the woman only as a "hotel guest of a male who attended the Pirates baseball game" Tuesday night. She was examined at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh and briefly treated for having been tied up, police said.
Police Cmdr. George Trosky refused to release additional information during the investigation, which includes examining surveillance video for clues.
The Reds were playing the Pirates in a game delayed by rain at nearby PNC Park when the robbery occurred. The player spoke to police after the game.
Bob Page, the hotel's marketing director, said the Omni William Penn employees were cooperating with police and that the hotel has "very stringent" security measures that are typically tightened when visiting teams stay at the hotel.
Page said police don't believe the robber actually worked at the hotel.
Police were called to the Omni William Penn Hotel after 10 p.m. Tuesday after other guests heard the woman screaming. The woman was identified only as a 26-year-old from Silver Spring, Md.
The woman told the police the man knocked on the door claiming to be a maintenance worker sent to fix her toilet before he demanded various items in the room, tied her up, then stole jewelry, clothes, a notebook computer, credit cards and identification. Police said some of the property belonged to the man assigned to the room. Police did not identify him, but the team said it was Chapman.
The 24-year-old Chapman defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed a six-year, $30.25 million deal with the Reds in January 2010.
The team did not make Chapman available for interviews before Wednesday's game at PNC Park, the last of a three-game series with the Pirates. Team officials declined comment, other than to say they're cooperating with the investigation.
In a news release, police identified the woman only as a "hotel guest of a male who attended the Pirates baseball game" Tuesday night. She was examined at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh and briefly treated for having been tied up, police said.
Police Cmdr. George Trosky refused to release additional information during the investigation, which includes examining surveillance video for clues.
The Reds were playing the Pirates in a game delayed by rain at nearby PNC Park when the robbery occurred. The player spoke to police after the game.
Bob Page, the hotel's marketing director, said the Omni William Penn employees were cooperating with police and that the hotel has "very stringent" security measures that are typically tightened when visiting teams stay at the hotel.
Page said police don't believe the robber actually worked at the hotel.
Story tags » • Major League Baseball
Comments
(