Man Uses Hot Coffee To Rob Virginia Hotel

Coffee isn't just a crucial morning ritual. It can also be used for malicious purposes.

At 9:45 pm Tuesday night, a man threw hot coffee at the front desk attendant of a Northern Virginia hotel. The coffee-thrower then "jumped the counter and stole a cash drawer with approximately $450 and a cell phone," according to the Arlington Police Department report.

The robber -- described as being a black male, six feet tall and 170 pounds, wearing white athletic shorts and reading glasses at the time of the robbery -- fled in a white sedan.

Police looked for him Tuesday night, unsuccessfully, using dogs and a helicopter. Arlington Police Department spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck told The Huffington Post that as of Thursday morning the suspect hasn't yet been caught.

The Washington Post has identified the hotel as the Best Western Pentagon, near Reagan National Airport. This is the same hotel where, almost exactly two years ago, two women were held captive and robbed in their room.

Hot coffee has been used as a weapon before. In 2010, a Florida man threw hot coffee in the face of a convenience store clerk in the course of a robbery. More recently, a Michigan man thwarted a 3 a.m. robbery attempt by throwing coffee at the would-be thief. And not just the beverage can be dangerous; coffee mugs, alas, can also be lethal.

We've reached out to the hotel to find out about the victim's condition and will update this piece when we have more information.

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