A five-hour standoff with SWAT officers at the Roosevelt Inn on San Antonio's South Side ended peacefully after the man gave himself up.
Police believe the man was working with a prostitute in a plan to rob her customer.
The standoff began around 3 a.m. Friday at the motel in the 2100 block of Roosevelt.
"They staged some sort of an assault at some point to place our victim in this case, who started out as the customer, in some sort of fear," said San Antonio police Sgt. Javier Salazar.
Investigators believe the man who refused to come out of his motel room pretended to assault the prostitute, so he could steal from the man who was paying to be with her.
"I don't believe that he was hurt in any way. He certainly was placed in fear for his life," Salazar said.
The would-be customer got away and called police. They surrounded the motel room, and tried to convince both the man and the woman to come out.
"First the lady came out. She came out willingly. She had her hands up, turned around. They had her back up towards the car or whatever, but they still kept calling for another person in the room," said Britany Zepeda, who was staying in a nearby room. "They had the big rifles out -- like, (aimed at) her -- preparing for anything to happen. That was a little scary."
Police thought the man involved in the standoff was armed. They have not said whether they found a gun inside the motel room.
The alleged prostitute and her accomplice are both expected to face charges, but police said it did not appear the prostitute's potential customer would be charged.