ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) — A man is accused of posing as a police officer to rob a woman in her hotel room, it was later learned he committed a similar crime in Lantana.
On Aug. 23 the Orlando Police Department (OPD) responded to an armed robbery at a hotel near Universal Boulevard and International Drive. Officers met with a woman who stated that an unknown man wearing a badge around his neck forced his way into her hotel room and claimed to be a police officer.
The victim explained to detectives that the man restrained her in handcuffs and stole her wallet while displaying what appeared to be a gun in his waistband, police say. The woman’s recollection of events was confirmed by surveillance video.
OPD says its officers were able to use surveillance video to identify the suspect’s vehicle. The vehicle was seen visiting several Florida cities throughout August. OPD says detectives were able to confirm that the vehicle stopped at a Days Inn in Miami Springs. Detectives identified the suspect as Michael Darren Jesse Rodriguez, 27, of Poughkeepsie, New York…