California man faces hate crime charges after robbing 21 gay men he met on Grindr: FBI

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Timesreported that a California man named Derrick Patterson potentially faces federal hate crime charges after allegedly violently robbing and draining the bank accounts of 21 gay men he targeted through the Grindr gay hookup app.

"Patterson, who lives in Compton, threatened some of the men with a gun, knife or taser, according to court documents. Victims told police they feared he would kill them. He hit one of them in the back of the head, and he gashed the chest of another with a kitchen knife, according to the FBI," reported Michael Finnegan. "Several of the victims told authorities they believed Patterson was targeting gay men as a hate crime; one specified a homophobic slur he used. Some also said Patterson was watching straight porn on their phones at the beginning of their encounters."

One victim was identified by the initials "J.S."

"Shortly after his arrival [at the Beverly Hills Hilton], Patterson asked if he could watch porn on J.S.'s mobile phone, according to the FBI. J.S. gave him the phone, but he soon suspected Patterson was locking himself out of the device on purpose," said the report. "He wanted to watch J.S. type in the four-digit passcode — the same passcode J.S. used for online banking. The encounter quickly soured: Patterson threatened to shoot J.S. and stole his phone and wallet, FBI agent George Maloney alleged in court papers. Within hours, Patterson started draining J.S.'s accounts, making $600 in ATM withdrawals and taking $1,800 by Venmo and $2,000 by Zelle, the agent said."

This comes after another report that a Miami police union boss was suspended after pulling a gun on his Grindr date and accusing him of trying to steal from him.