UTICA — A parolee has been charged again on accusations of holding up the front desk clerk at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, according to the Utica Police Department.

Police allege John Terry, 55, of Utica, entered the hotel lobby on Lafayette Street shortly after midnight and approached the front desk clerk with a knife pointed at them, demanding money. The clerk told Terry that the hotel does not have cash on hand, and police said the clerk took cash out of his own pocket in an effort to calm Terry.

Terry then forced the clerk into the back office to open the safe, police said, and the clerk did not know the combination. Terry then fled the hotel without harming the clerk, authorities stated.

Surveillance camera footage of Terry was shared with other local law enforcement agencies and police said he was recognized by New York State Parole. Terry was then located walking on Genesee Street at 11 a.m. Thursday and he was taken into custody.

Terry is charged with one count each of first-degree robbery and third-degree possession of a weapon, both felonies, police said. He is scheduled to appear in Utica City Court.

According to state records, Terry has served four prior state prison sentences. He was convicted of robbery in Oneida County in 1990 and was released on parole in 1997. Terry was convicted of possessing a forged instrument in Oneida County in 1998 and was released on parole in 2001.

Then in 2002, records show Terry was convicted of attempted robbery in Oneida County and served nearly six years in prison, being released on parole in January 2008. Terry was convicted of robbery again in Oneida County that year and was sent back to prison in December 2008, until he was released on parole on Dec. 1, 2022.