Police are on the hunt for a man who is robbing men in downtown hotels after arranging to meet them via the Grindr hookup app. At least three victims have been targeted since Jan. 6.
The latest victim was held-up Tuesday evening in a room at the Westin Michigan Avenue, 909 North Michigan.
Police responded to the hotel at 9:34 p.m. and met with a 42-year-old man who said he was robbed by a stun gun-wielding man that he met via a social media app, according to CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli.
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After meeting, the offender displayed the weapon, threatened the victim, and took his valuables before leaving the hotel eastbound on Delaware Place.
The robber is a black man, 6’2” tall, 190 pounds, and about 26-years-old, Bartoli said. He wore jeans and a denim jacket with a white fur lining on Tuesday night. The offender may have a heart-shaped tattoo near one eye.
At least two other men have reported being robbed in downtown hotel rooms by a similarly-described man during January:
- On Jan. 23, a 42-year-old man invited an online hookup to come to his room at the W Lakeshore Hotel, 644 North Lake Shore Drive, around 12:30 a.m. The men met at the hotel and then went to the victim’s room where the offender pulled out a Taser and demanded his property.
- On Jan. 6, a 60-year-old man told police that a Grindr date came to his room at the Cambria Hotel, 32 West Randolph, shocked him with a Taser and stole his wallet around 8:38 p.m. Police managed to find the offender nearby and they detained him after a brief foot chase, but the victim got cold feet given the nature of his meet-up and the police had to let the offender go.
The suspect remains at-large. Area Central detectives are investigating.
