California Mans Pleads Guilty to Assaulting, Robbing Grindr Hookups
pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to robbing and assaulting a series of men he met on Grindr over nearly two-and-a-half years.According to a statement from the Department of Justice in April, Derrick Patterson, 23, of Compton, used the popular dating app to target at least 21 gay men for robbery from November 2019 to March 2022. “During the robberies, Patterson allegedly pulled weapons — varyingly, knives or a taser gun — on his victims, then demanded money and their cell phones, before fleeing the scene with the victims’ wallets.
On other occasions, Patterson physically assaulted his victims,” authorities said.In the plea agreement announced last week, Patterson admitted to robbing five victims between June 2021 and March 2022 whom he had met through Grindr, DOJ officials said.
He also admitted that he assaulted one victim and threatened to shoot another.The Los Angeles Times reported Patterson used an antigay slur during one robbery, telling the victim, “You b**ches are all the same.”Patterson stole $4,000 from one victim’s Venmo account and opened a line of credit with Goldman Sachs using another victim’s identity after threatening him with a stun gun, according to authorities.
He drained almost $4,000 from one victim’s account, and nearly $1,400 from another’s. He also made unauthorized purchases using credit cards he had stolen from the victims.He stabbed one victim in the chest with a knife, authorities said in April.
