Four men in Texas jailed for using Grindr to rob houses

Four men, last year, used Grindr to target gay man and rob their houses. Anthony Shelton, 20, and Cameron Ajiduah, 19, were sentenced to 20 and 15 years in prison on Monday, while the two other defendants, Nigel Garrett, 21, and Chancler Encalade, 20, were previously sentenced to 15 years and 10 years, respectively.

The Justice Department outlined the crimes in a press release: “For each of the four home invasions, the defendants used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay men, to falsely identify as a gay man and arrange to meet the victim at the victim’s home. Upon entering the victim’s home, the defendants assaulted the victim, restrained the victim with tape, and made derogatory statements about the victim being gay. The defendants possessed a firearm during each home invasion, and they stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle.”

The men were charged with four other separate home invasions, all in Texas.

Jospeh D. Brown, an attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said this case was a warning about the danger of online apps: “This case highlights the danger of the internet and specifically, online apps. In this case, the defendants misused the internet for sinister purposes in order to target an innocent man based on his sexual orientation, causing him bodily harm and damage to his property.”

_________________