Tag Archives: robbery

CALIFORNIA: Compton Man Used GRINDR to Rob 20 Gay Men

CALIFORNIA: Compton Man Used GRINDR to Rob 20 Gay Men Over 2 Years

Derrick Patterson, was charged with more than 30 counts of robbery, burglary, grand theft and assault, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for using using the gay hookup site GRINDR to lure more than 20 gay men into dates that tuned into robberies, sometimes at knife point, over the past two years, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.

Via The LA Times: Patterson used a profile with a different person’s picture to arrange hookups with men in their homes. Often times, he’d tell his victims he needed to use their cellphones to watch porn to get aroused.. Once he had access to their phones, Patterson would use payment apps such as Venmo to send himself money or send money to the accounts of other victims whose phones he’d stolen. Sometimes Patterson would order the men to leave their doors unlocked and wait for him in a bedroom, then begin ransacking their homes. In cases in which victims realized Patterson’s intentions were criminal rather than sexual, Patterson threaten them or claim he had accomplices waiting outside who would lay waste to their homes if they didn’t comply.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Ceballos. filed a hate crime enhancement against Patterson, noting he would specifically target gay victims because he believed they were “soft targets” and sometimes used anti-gay slurs during the attacks. In some cases, Patterson would have sex with the victims and steal money by using their phones during sex.

Ceballos also expressed frustration with GRINDR. He said the app was not responsive after several victims raised safety concerns about Patterson’s account and claimed that when police obtained a search warrant for information about Paterson’s account, the app said it had nothing to turn over.

A spokesman for GRINDR said the company takes all reports of abuse seriously and cooperates with law enforcement and that “We encourage users to be careful when interacting with people they do not know”

If convicted of all charges, Patterson faces up to 60 years in prison,

NYC: Two Gay Men Robbed and Murdered After Bar Visits

NYC: Two Gay Men Robbed and Murdered After Bar Visits

The deaths of two gay men in 2022 have been labeled homicides by NYC’s s medical examiner. The men Julio Ramirez and John Umberger were found dead and had their bank accounts emptied. Both had gone to gay bars and had last been seen with several men.

New York’s chief medical examiner’s office said that the two were killed by “drug-facilitated theft.”

Twenty-five-year-old Julio Ramirez’s body was found in the back of a taxi after he left the Ritz Bar with some men on April 20, 2022. About $20,000 dollars had been taken from his bank accounts.

John Umberger, 33, the second murder victim was found about a month later after he and a couple of men left the Q, a gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen His bank accounts were also drained of about $20,000.

Both men died due to  “acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin, cocaine, lidocaine, and ethanol.”

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement to NBC News that the investigation is “ongoing.”

PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN OUR CURRENT GOP ANTI-LGBT POLITICAL CLIMATE WHEN GOING OUT. IF YOU GO TO A BAR MAKE SURE THE BARTENDER IS AWARE OF WHO YOU LEAVE WITH. WE DID THIS IN THE 70s AND 80s AND NOW WE MUST DO IT AGAIN.
IT’S ABOUT SURVIVAL. – BE SMART, PLAY SMART, AND BE AWARE.
NYC: Three Men Robbed of Thousands of Dollars After Pick-Up's at The Eagle

NYC: Three Men Robbed of Thousands of Dollars After Pick-Up’s at The Eagle

Three men who visited a the New York City gay leather bar The Eagle were robbed of thousands of dollars using facial recognition access on their phones, the New York Police Department has confirmed.

The three men visited a Chelsea gay leather bar, The Eagle NYC, on separate nights in October and November and were each robbed of $1,000 to $5,000, according to the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of public information. 

Police believe the criminals used facial recognition to access the victims’ phones and funds once they were drugged or otherwise incapacitated after they left the bar., according to Capt. Robert Gault of the city’s 10th Precinct.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, authorities said.

Please be careful.

California Man Arrested for Targeting, Robbing 20+ Gay Men on GRINDR

California Man Arrested for Targeting, Robbing 20+ Gay Men on GRINDR

A Compton, California man who allegedly targeted and robbed more than 20 gay men he met on GRINDR has been arrested according to authorities.

Via The Pride:

Derrick Patterson, 22, was taken into custody by the FBI and is charged in a federal criminal complaint. The robberies occurred between November 2019 and March 2022 after Patterson allegedly contacted people using Grindr and arranged to meet at their homes or hotel rooms, purportedly for sex, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and KTLA. Officials said he would then draw different weapons, such as knives or a taser gun, and demand their wallets and cell phones. 

Patterson is accused of stabbing a man in the chest in October 2020. The victim survived and was able to identify Patterson to the police.

Patterson faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The FBI is looking for other victims of Patterson. They can contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.

PLEASE always be careful when using social media for sex hook-ups.

3rd. Man Charged In Violent Kidnapping, Robbery and Torture Spree of 9 Gay Men in Dallas

3rd. Man Charged In Violent Kidnapping, Robbery and Torture Spree of 9 Gay Men in Dallas

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.

Man Charged In 2013 Drugging and Robbery Cases Of Mature Gay Men In Boston

Man Charged In 2013 Drugging and Robbery Cases Of Mature Gay Men In Boston

 

Riccardo D’Orsainville, is accused of meeting older gentlemen through a mature men’s website and drugging his victims and  stealing their artwork, jewelry, electronics and designer clothes. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the crimes committed in 2013 and has been charged with kidnapping, poisoning, larceny and receiving stolen property, and his bond was reduced from $250,000 to $100,000.

From The Boston Globe:

Authorities have said D’Orsainville passed himself off as a wealthy European, and contacted one of the victims through Silver Daddies, a website for older gay men looking for sexual partners. Two others, he allegedly met at a bar.

The victims brought him to their homes, had a few drinks with him, and passed out. All regained consciousness to find artwork and designer clothes were missing, prosecutors have said.

D’Orsainville allegedly stole a tuxedo from one man. Another victim woke up with his hands bound behind his back

D’Orsainville is a Haitian national who has a lengthy criminal record, including credit card fraud and embezzlement. However, federal authorities have not deported him because he’s gay and could face discrimination in Haiti.

D’Orsainville  claims that his victims only reported the crimes because they had “relationship regret” and “buyer’s remorse.”

Watch a report below.

 

Gay Man Robbed and Sexually Assaulted Over His Cellphone in Brooklyn, NY

A 24-year-old gay Brooklyn man was robbed of his cellphone at “fake” gunpoint,  beaten, and then sexually assaulted around 3:30 a.m. on September 5th, the victim was approached by a man who pretended to have a gun at Myrtle and Throop Avenues.

Police are seeking a 21-year-old  Julius Wright   (pictured) who after taking the victim’s phone,  asked the victim his sexual orientation,  began berating the man with anti-gay slurs and then sexually assaulting him.

The victim was later taken Woodhull Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Meanwhile police are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Wright (described as 6’1″, 170 lbs. with the word “Slim” tattooed on his right forearm) to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.