A group of deplorable teens allegedly conducted a home-invasion robbery on Monday at the home of a UC Berkeley student using Tinder, and the ruse of a hookup with a 19-year-old girl.
The incident happened early Monday morning, and as the Berkeley Scanner reports via Berkeley police, this all began with the student apparently seeking a hookup on Tinder.
A 19-year-old female suspect, identified as Nina Mendoza Nieves of Oakland, arrived at the victim’s home, an apartment on the 2300 block of Prospect Street, around 1 a.m. Monday, accompanied by a 17-year-old female from Stockton.
Nieves then allegedly went inside the home with the victim, leaving the door ajar, and the 17-year-old, along with a 19-year-old female from Oakland and a 16-year-old male, then allegedly stormed into the apartment. According to police, they held the victim down and robbed him at gunpoint, stealing $4,100 in cash and electronics.
The second 19-year-old suspect is identified as Royal Lawrence II.
All four suspects were arrested on Monday, and police reportedly found them using the Tinder account they used to find their victim, as the East Bay Times reports via court documents.
It’s unclear if Nieves was actively soliciting sex on Tinder, but the East Bay Times reports that, according to authorities, there was a CashApp account associated with her photo and phone number through which she was allegedly paid, and her number and photo were allegedly associated with an escort service.
Berkeley Scanner reports that police located the suspects around 3:45 a.m. Monday, at the Berkeley Marina, but police apparently used Tinder to ensnare Nieves and bring her there. Investigators reportedly contacted her for a hookup and arranged a meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel at Berkeley Marina, and when the vehicle arrived with all four occupants, they conducted a car stop and arrested all the suspects.
The two adult suspects, Nieves and Lawrence, are being held at Santa Rita Jail and they were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
