Man robs date at gunpoint and steals her car after meeting on dating app, SC cops say
A man robbed his date at gunpoint, taking her phone, purse and car, South Carolina police say.
On Monday, Aug. 22, Arthur Squire, 41, was meeting up with a woman he had met on the dating app Plenty of Fish, the North Charleston Police Department says in a news release. The two had agreed to meet at the woman’s Wingate by Wyndham hotel room.
After arriving at the woman’s room, Squire is accused of taking two unknown pills and trying to start smoking. When the woman insisted he could not smoke in her room, Squire took out a gun and zip ties and then snatched her phone out of her hand, the release says.
The woman then tried to grab her purse, but Squire took it and left the room, according to the release. Once Squire was gone, the woman went to the hotel’s lobby and called 911.
Police say they were dispatched around 1:20 a.m. When they arrived to the scene, they tried to check security camera footage but found all the hotel’s cameras were down.
Police say they talked to the victim and discovered the woman’s car had also been stolen.
Officers allowed the woman to use Find My iPhone to track her phone, which pinged at the Stay Express Inn, another hotel about three miles north of the Wingate by Windham. Police say they checked the Stay Express Inn’s security footage and confirmed that Squire had taken the woman’s car to the hotel.
An officer escorted the woman to the Stay Express Inn where she retrieved her stolen belongings, the release says.
After securing the victim’s goods, police say they were notified that Squire had been located at the Economy Inn, another hotel two miles south of the Stay Express Inn.
Once they arrived at the Economy Inn, police say they tried to call Squire out of his room, but he had barricaded himself inside. Police called in SWAT, and upon the arrival of additional officers, Squire and multiple others exited the room.
Police searched Squire’s room and his car, which was parked in the hotel parking lot, and located two stolen guns, the release says.
Squire was arrested and taken to Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center, where he is facing charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, armed robbery and grand larceny of a motor vehicle.
Plenty of Fish did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
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