4 Texas Teens Use Grindr to Rob and Assault Man
The victim claims he arranged to meet with a man he'd spoken to on Grindr, only to be assaulted and held at gunpoint by four attackers.
Four Texas teenagers were arrested for allegedly using Grindr to entrap a man for the purpose of robbing and assaulting him.
Dustin Andrew Bailey, Jr., was arrested and held at the Bell County Jail in lieu of a $600,000 bond for his role in the plot, reports Waco-based FOX affiliate KWKT-TV.
The 17-year-old faces charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
Two 16-year-old males and a 15-year-old male are also being held at the county’s Juvenile Detention Center.
The incident took place around 2 a.m. on June 2 in Killeen, Texas. A police officer was conducting a check near Hallmark Avenue and Wolf Street when he encountered a group of men in the middle of the street, surrounding another man who was attempting to wave the officer down.
Four men ran from the area, with three making a getaway, while Bailey tried to enter a nearby house.
The responding officer detained Bailey, who had been wearing a face mask during the assault, and other officers soon responded to the area, and, with the help of a K9 unit, found the other three suspects hiding in a storage shed in the 400 block of Bryce Avenue.
The teens were in possession of a handgun and a BB gun that looked like a shotgun, according to Waco CBS affiliate KWTX.
Officers learned that the victim had messaged a man through the Grindr dating app. He was scheduled to meet that person at a residence in the 700 block of Wolf Street. But upon arriving, he was ambushed by four men armed with shotguns and handguns.
The victim told officers that the four men assaulted him and demanded his property.
They took his car keys and planned to drive the victim to another location. At that point, the police car arrived on the scene, and the victim began waving for help.
The case was reviewed by the Bell County District Attorney’s Office, which charged all four suspects with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Because Bailey is the only one over 16, the other three suspects are being treated as juveniles and their names will not be released publicly.
The Killeen Police Department’s robbery/homicide unit is investigating similar incidents in the same area, though no evidence yet links those to the June 2 assault.
Police are asking anyone with information about the case, including those who may have experienced similar incidents, to contact the department by calling 254-526-8477.
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