Sex Worker, 2 Others Rob Man At Gunpoint In Wayne Hotel: Cops

WAYNE, NJ — Three people are facing charges after Wayne police said they held a man at gunpoint and robbed him after he agreed to pay for sexual acts from one of the accused.

Police responded to the Days Inn motel around 10:20 p.m. on July 7 after a male victim — who has not been named — said he had agreed to meet a woman "for the purpose of paying her for sexual acts."

The man told police that the woman did meet him at the motel, but there was another knock on the door shortly after. The woman who he had agreed to pay, later identified as Mariam Mohammed, 22, of Clifton, opened the door for a second woman, Jessica Bell-Tulloch, 22, of Paterson and Damony James, 20, of Passaic.

James and Bell-Tulloch were both wearing masks and hoods, police said, and James "produced a shotgun from a guitar case and pointed it at the victim." Bell-Tulloch also removed a baseball bat from her bag.

Both threatened the man and demanded his belongings, at one point placing the shotgun to his head, police said.

Eventually, the man was ordered to stay in the bathroom, and all three accused of the robbery fled the scene with his belongings.

A police investigation revealed video of the trio entering the motel, and showed Bell-Tulloch and James carrying a bag and guitar case, which held the weapons, police said. Additionally, the victim said he had "met with [Mohammed] to engage in acts of prostitution in the past," and that he knew she occasionally stayed at the Red Carpet Inn in Elmwood Park.

Police were conducting surveillance of that location on July 9 when they learned Mohammed was present at the motel. Wayne and Elmwood Park police detectives went to the room, where they discovered all three of the accused present. They were taken into custody without incident, police said.

A baseball bat was found in the hotel room, and a shotgun — suspected to be the one used in the robbery — was found in James' Passaic apartment, police said.

All three are facing robbery, burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose charges. They are being held in Passaic County Jail, pending a detention hearing.

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