Man targeted and robbed 21 men he met on Grindr dating app in California, feds say

A man was arrested after being accused of targeting and robbing at least 21 men he met on the gay meet-up app Grindr in California, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Derrick Patterson, 22, was arrested on Monday, April 4, by special agents with the FBI, the Department of Justice said.

An attorney for Patterson was not listed in online court documents. McClatchy News reached out to Grindr for comment and is awaiting response.

According to the affidavit, Patterson used the app — which shows the nearest users in order of proximity — from November 2019 to March 2022 to locate and target victims. He was accused of using the app to arrange meetings with victims at hotel rooms or at their homes under the pretense of sexual activity. During the robberies, Patterson would threaten victims with knives or a taser, then demand their money and cell phones, prosecutors said.

Patterson would also ask victims to send him money from their phones or would use victims’ cell phones to send himself money through Cash App, Venmo and Apple Pay, the affidavit said. He also is accused of withdrawing money from some victims’ bank accounts or using their credit cards for his own expenses.

In some cases, Patterson physically assaulted victims, the affidavit said. In one instance, he sprayed a victim in the face with pepper spray, hit them in the face with the pepper spray can, and punched them several times before stealing their wallet and cell phone, documents said. In another, he cut a victim’s chest with a kitchen knife, the affidavit said.

In some cases, Patterson also engaged in sexual activity with his victims before robbing them, the affidavit said.

Some victims found pictures of Patterson in their iCloud accounts after their phones were stolen, which they provided to police, the affidavit said. One victim also discovered pictures of a driver’s license, social security card and other documents that were related to two other victims, documents said.

Police said they responded to one of the robberies on Oct. 17, 2020. One of the victims called police at around 5:30 a.m. after Patterson allegedly escaped from their home. Officers arrested Patterson, but released him from custody after collecting DNA swabs from him, documents said.

Some of the victims said they believed Patterson was committing hate crimes and deliberately targeting gay men. In at least one instance, Patterson was accused of using homophobic slurs toward a victim, the affidavit said.

The final robbery took place on March 26 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, documents said.

Patterson is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, defined as “unlawfully taking another person’s property ‘by means of actual or threatened force.’” If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In late 2020, Grindr reported having about 13 million monthly users on its app.

This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Man targeted and robbed 21 men he met on Grindr dating app in California, feds say."