Winchester Police charge man with robbing two hotels

Winchester Police made an arrest in a pair of hotel robberies after receiving information about the suspect earlier this week.

Jesse Burgess, 20, of 2959 Thompson Station Road, confessed to police Thursday that he robbed the Quality Inn on July 13 and the Hampton Inn the following day. He is now facing two counts of first-degree robbery.

Surveillance video in both hotels recorded a man entering the lobby between 1 and 2 a.m. with his face covered and what appeared to be a handgun, Winchester Police Capt. James Hall said. The clerk at Quality Inn had stepped away from the desk when the suspect entered and reached over the counter to take money, he said. At the Hampton Inn, the suspect demanded money from the clerk on duty and brandished what appeared to be a handgun. The clerk then surrendered the cash, and the suspect fled on foot.
There was no evidence or descriptions of a vehicle outside the hotels, Hall said.

Detectives received information Thursday that implicated Burgess in the robberies, he said.

“We were given tips on some evidence, but we had evidence on hand,” Hall said.

When Burgess was interviewed, he admitted to being the person that robbed the two hotels with a toy gun, Hall said.

Burgess also said he worked alone but had arranged for someone to pick him up afterwards, Hall said.
The driver, though, did not know about the robberies, Hall said.

“He claimed he was the only one that went in and committed the robberies,” Hall said.

Burgess was incarcerated in the Clark County Detention Center.

His arrest is not his first brush with the authorities. According to the Clark Circuit Clerk’s Office, Burgess has been arrested several times for theft or receiving stolen property.

Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.