A former employee of a Sheraton Hotel in Falls Township was arrested late Sunday night after allegedly burglarizing his former place of employment.
Falls Township police responded to a burglary report at approximately 11:48 p.m. when the hotel manager noticed suspicious activity on the hotel’s live video feed. The manager saw a man, later identified as 44-year-old Terriek Hammonds of Philadelphia, breaking into a locked liquor closet and stuffing bottles into bags.
When officers arrived at the hotel, they found Hammonds at the rear of the building, matching the description provided by the manager. He was wearing a blue and red leather jacket and carrying three full bags. Police instructed Hammonds to place the bags on the ground, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
Hammonds had been fired from the hotel several months prior and was told not to return. Investigators found that he had forced entry into the liquor closet, causing fresh pry marks and damage to the lock.
At the scene, police recovered 37 bottles of alcohol, valued at over $1,000, along with a knife and two pry bars.
Hammonds was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, theft, and criminal mischief. He was arraigned by on-call District Judge Christopher O’Neill and held on $75,000 bail.