SACO — A transient could face up to a year or more in prison if convicted of a robbery at the Ramada Hotel in Saco earlier this year.

Cody Lott, 36, a transient from Kansas, was indicted by a York County grand jury on July 2 for robbery with a weapon, a Class A felony offense, and Class C theft, a misdemeanor, in connection with the March 31 incident.

Police were called to the Ramada by Wyndham hotel at 352 North St. in Saco about 5:19 p.m. March 31, according to Saco Deputy Police Chief Jack Clements.

“Responding officers learned that a male subject entered the lobby area, produced a dark colored semi-automatic handgun, and demanded money,” Clements said.

An undisclosed amount of money was stolen and the suspect left the building through the front door, said Clements.

Saco Police then posted a description and photo of the offender on social media and sent a press release to local news organizations asking for the public’s help in locating him. Officers received a crime tip on Monday morning that the suspect from the robbery was spotted on Main Street in Biddeford.

Members of the Biddeford Police Department’s Patrol and Criminal Investigations Division responded to the area and established surveillance, according to Clements.

A short time later, police arrested Lott and charged him with Class A robbery.

Lott was remanded to the York County Jail in Alfred where he remains in lieu of $5,000 bail and is expected to stand trial on the charges this fall.

In 2014, Lott was convicted of charges of fleeing and eluding, theft, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer in Saline, Kansas and was released from jail in 2015 after serving time for those crimes.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 2820-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com