Teens lured men online for dates only to rob and shoot them, California police say
Three teenagers in California have been arrested on suspicion of multiple incidents of setting up dates online with men, only to rob and shoot the unsuspecting victims.
Amit Chhoker, 18, Branden Lerma, 19, and a 17-year-old boy have all been taken into custody by the Solano County Sheriff's Office for the suspected behavior.
Chhoker picked up her date — an 18-year-old man — in April and drove him to a remote location, said Solano County Undersheriff Brad DeWall to KCRA-TV. As soon as things "got romantic," Lerma and the unidentified boy ambushed the vehicle to shoot and rob him, DeWall said.
A similar event occurred June 18, KTXL-TV reported, allowing detectives to identify the vehicle involved— a green Land Rover — using surveillance footage. Chhoker was arrested after being spotted in the vehicle this week. Both events occurred just after midnight.
Both victims from the two events survived the attacks.
“Not only in the same fashion is this executed, but the descriptions are matching, and there are very similar patterns,” DeWall told KCRA-TV.
Solano police are asking any other potential victims of the attacks to come forward.
The Solano County Sheriff's Office has not responded to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teens lured men online for dates only to rob and shoot them, California police say
