KENTWOOD, Mich. — A man who agreed to an online date was beaten and robbed at gunpoint in Kentwood, and now his “date’’ has been charged with armed robbery causing serious injury.
The incident occurred in late February after the man met his accused assailant on the dating app “MeetMe.’’
After meeting the woman, he was confronted by three men wearing masks, according to court records.
The woman, identified as 27-year-old Shontika Denise Gordon, was booked into the Kent County Jail in mid-June. She is being held on a $100,000 bond pending a probable cause conference this week in Kentwood District Court.
Similar robberies involving the MeetMe app have been reported recently in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Illinois. In the city of Elgin, located northwest of Chicago, police there reported four robberies earlier this month.
The victims all arranged dates through the MeetMe app and were robbed when they arrived at the agreed-upon location. In one instance, one of the victims was forced to go to several ATMs in an effort to get cash from his bank account, Elgin police reported.
The case in Kentwood occurred on Feb. 24 when Gordon told the victim to meet her outside an apartment building off of Pheasant Ridge SE, according to a probable cause affidavit in Kentwood District Court.
Gordon and the man “had not met in person before this date,’’ Detective Timothy Dykgraaf wrote in the probable cause affidavit. “They planned on smoking weed in his vehicle.’’
Shortly after Gordon got into the man's vehicle, a dark van missing hubcaps pulled up and three masked subjects got into the backseat, Dykgraaf wrote.
“They restrained him and put a gun to his head. He was hit in the head several times and could feel Shontika going through his pockets,’’ Dykgraaf wrote.
He suffered injuries to his face that resulted in bleeding and significant swelling, court documents show.
The three unknown males and Gordon then got into the van and left, the victim told police. He reported that his keys, glasses, power convertor and USB drive were taken.
Gordon was identified by her phone number “that she had been texting’’ the victim on, Dykgraaf wrote in the probable cause affidavit. The victim identified her in a photo line-up.
If convicted of armed robbery causing serious injury, Gordon faces up to life in prison. She’s also facing a mandatory two years for felony use of a gun.
Gordon, who says she is unemployed, lists a home address in Kent County’s Gaines Township.
There is no indication in court records if others have been charged in the incident.
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