Teen charged in string of South Bend robberies connected to dating apps
SOUTH BEND — A 19-year-old now faces criminal charges following a string of robberies connected to dating apps on the northeast side of South Bend.
Dayavion Thompson was charged with four counts of armed robbery Monday, with law enforcement officials accusing the 19-year-old of having arranged to meetup with people through a dating app on multiple occasions before robbing them using a BB gun.
The recent robberies took place from late June to early July in the area of East Sorin and Frances streets in South Bend. Court documents don't say what dating app Thompson allegedly used, calling it only "a smartphone dating application," but they do claim he used the same app for all four of the robberies.
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Prosecutors accuse Thompson of using a screen name to message four different victims and telling them to meet him near North Frances or Sorin street. Court documents list Thompson as having lived on East Sorin Street during the time the robberies happened.
When the victims arrived, they reported a man wearing a ski mask got into the front seat of their cars, pulled out a gun and demanded their wallets and cell phones. Thompson allegedly took three of the victims phones and later sold them, but one person was able to run away and call police.
Court document show two of the robberies took place after 3:30 a.m. on June 26, with another the night of July 5 and the fourth on July 6.
In addition to Thompson living near the area of the robberies, police looked at GPS data from Thompson's ankle monitor, as he was on probation at the time. According to court documents, that data showed Thompson was in the area of all four robberies at the times the robberies were committed.
Thompson was arrested as part of a search warrant last week and was questioned by detectives. Prosecutors claim Thompson admitted to the robberies and said he used a BB gun, but didn't show much of it so the victims wouldn't notice it wasn't a real gun. He also allegedly said he sold the phones through an EcoATM kiosk for around $50 a phone.
Court documents say video footage from the kiosk shows Thompson selling one of the phones on July 11.
In addition to the recent armed robbery counts, police also believe Thompson used a dating app to commit a robbery in November. He is charged only with felony counterfeiting in connection with that case, which is separate from the four more recent incidents.
South Bend police Lt. Kayla Miller told reporters last month that police suspected there could be additional robberies, but those are not mentioned in court documents.
“We live in a world where it’s so easy to be behind your phone or behind your computer and to provide false information," Miller said in a July 1 interview. "I encourage people to try and get some information you can verify about the other person you’re communicating with before you have that initial meetup."
Each count of armed robbery carries a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison if Thompson is convicted. The penalty for counterfeiting ranges from six months to 2 ½ years in prison.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend teen charged in multiple dating app robberies in June, July
