BLOOMINGTON — A 21-year-old man has been arrested on allegations he robbed another man at knifepoint who he had met through a dating app and forced him into a vehicle so he could take him to an ATM to withdraw money from his bank account.
It all happened early April 6, according to Bloomington police.
Officers were called about 6:15 a.m. to the 2900 block of East Amy Lane, where they met with a 30-year-old man who reported he had been robbed earlier that morning.
The man told police he met up with the suspect, who he had met on Grindr, about 2 a.m. at an apartment. The man told police the suspect wore a face covering and asked to keep the lights off so he couldn't be identified.
The man told officers the suspect held a large knife to his neck and threatened to kill him if he didn't give him all his money. The man said he then showed the suspect his wallet didn't contain any cash, according to police.
It was then, the man told police, his face was then covered with a coat and he was taken outside to the suspect's vehicle, at which point the suspect struck him in the face and forced him into the backseat.
The man said the suspect then drove him to a nearby ATM twice to withdraw cash using his credit cards. He said the suspect later dropped him off back home, deleted Grindr from his phone, told him not to call police, and again threatened to kill him, according to police.
Police on Thursday obtained a court order to retrieve surveillance footage from the ATM, which showed the license plate of the suspect's vehicle. That led investigators to the 1200 block of North Lincoln Street, where they saw a man matching the suspect's description enter a home from that same vehicle.
Police then obtained and executed a search warrant for the vehicle and that home, which led them to find clothing worn by the suspect on April 6 and three credit cards with the 30-year-old man's name on them.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of robbery, kidnapping and battery with bodily injury.
It is WRTV's policy to not name suspects until they are formally charged.
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