Witnesses help police track down suspect involved in armed robbery and hotel standoff

A frightened robbery victim helped Oklahoma City police Thursday after her store was robbed. Police said Kenneth Simmons, 32, then barricaded himself in a hotel near I-40 and South Meridian Avenue for several hours.
Bob Mills Sky News 9 flew over the stage at the Oak Tree Inn and Suites.
“Right now they’re just in an impasse talking to the suspect,” said Bob Mills Sky News 9 Pilot Jim Gardner.
Officers surrounded the hotel around 10 a.m. Thursday.
“A robbery suspect ran into a hotel and barricaded himself in a room,” Gardner said.
Police say Simmons was seen on security video holding up a store opposite the hotel at gunpoint. The Christie’s Toy Box employee told investigators that Simmons demanded all the money from the ledger and told her to get down.
When Simmons left, the employee ran by a dispensary where there was security and told them she had been robbed. One of the security guards saw Simmons running across the street to the hotel.
“Security believed they saw him running into a certain hotel room,” Msgt said. Gary Knight, Oklahoma City Police Department.
This information paid off and the police were able to pinpoint Simmons’ location. Investigators also pulled security video from shops across the street to confirm that Simmons was the suspect in the robbery.
“The tactical unit has been contacted by our police department,” Knight said. “And after a standoff that lasted about two hours, the suspect got out and surrendered,”
Simmons was incarcerated in the Oklahoma County Detention Center for robbery and several other charges. The police also took one of the men from the downtown hotel room for questioning.