Police: Suspect in Fairhaven Hampton Inn Robbery Found Under Car

A 56-year-old Worcester man was arrested early Sunday after he allegedly robbed the Fairhaven Hampton Inn, fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, and tried to hide under a car at a nearby Mazda dealership.

Christopher O'Neil was a guest at the hotel when he allegedly forced his way behind a clerk's partition in the lobby, ordered the clerk to the ground, and stole from the cash register, according to Fairhaven Police Department spokesman Lt. Kevin W. Kobza.

Kobza said the clerk managed to call 911 on the hotel business phone shortly after 1:30 a.m. She reportedly left that line open, then locked herself in the bathroom and called police again from her cell phone.

Fairhaven police arrived at the scene, searched near the hotel at 1 Hampton Way, and say they found O'Neill hiding beneath a vehicle at Alden Mazda at 37 Alden Rd. The cash was recovered. O'Neill was unarmed, Kobza said.

O'Neill was arrested without incident, booked on a charge of unarmed robbery of a person over the age of 60, and transported to the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford.

O'Neill was not arraigned today due to the Patriot's Day holiday. He is due for arraignment in New Bedford District Court.