A third Dallas man has been charged with federal hate crimes in connection with a string of violent kidnappings and robberies targeting gay men in December 2017.
The violent kidnapping and robbery spree came to an end after one of the nine victims, who were all abducted from a Home Depot parking lot where they “were attempting to meet up with what they believed was a 19-year-old Latin male” from the Grindr escaped his abductors and called 911
When Dallas PD arrived where that victim had been held, they found four other victims lying face down in an empty bedroom. One of them had blood all over his face.
Daryl Henry, the most recently arrested, is charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping and carjacking; hate crimes, aiding and abetting; and kidnapping, aiding and abetting, court records show.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered him held without bond pending trial. If convicted, Henry faces up to life in federal prison for the “gruesome” crimes, a prosecutor said.
Also charged in the case are Daniel Jenkins, 19, and Michael Atkinson, 24.
Atkinson pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit hate crime acts and kidnapping in exchange for an agreement from prosecutors to not seek more than 23 years in prison, according to court records.
The men were robbed, pistol-whipped, beaten and sexually assaulted, federal authorities said. At least two victims were smeared with feces and urinated on. . Another was sexually assaulted with an object, prosecutors said.
In every case, the suspects forced the victim to withdraw money from an ATM at gunpoint, a police affidavit said.
We at Back2Stonewall would like to give the following advice. If you insist on having GRINDR or other “dating”apps hook-ups. PLEASE meet in a public setting such as a restaurant or bar where people can see who you leave with. You can never be too careful. Especially these days.