SAN ANTONIO — A Texas man is accused of killing two men in two days after meeting the victims through the Grindr social networking app, authorities said.
According to Bexar County online court records, Jer Auntey Bernard Pleasant, 22, of San Antonio, was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Pleasant is accused of killing Joseph Quinton West, 22, and Larry Wilson, 54, WOAI-TV reported.
An arrest warrant states that Pleasant connected with Wilson through the Grindr app and after messaging several times, made plans to meet on April 14, according to KSAT-TV.
Just before 11 p.m. CDT, Wilson allegedly drove to the Banyan Tree Apartments where he told Pleasant, who went by the name “Derek” on the app, that he was parked at the complex in a white Ford SUV, the television station reported.
Witnesses said they saw a man in a red hoodie firing multiple shots into the SUV, and police later identified the driver as Wilson, WOAI reported.
Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Investigators found a fingerprint matching Pleasant’s on a condom wrapper at the crime scene, according to the television station.
The next day, police received a call for a welfare check at an apartment complex, KSAT reported. The caller said he had not heard from West for several days, and when he peeked into the man’s apartment he saw a foot hanging off a bed, according to the television station.
The man called 911.
Firefighters entered the apartment and found West face down on the bed with a gunshot wound to the back of his head, according to KSAT.
Investigators discovered that West also used the Grindr dating app and had messaged the suspect, WOAI reported. Pleasant’s fingerprint was found on another condom wrapper at that scene and in the victim’s vehicle, according to the television station.
Police found a single 9mm shell casing at the scene, which matched casings found at the Banyan Tree apartment shooting, KSAT reported.
Pleasant was arrested and booked into the Bexar County Jail, where bail was set at $700,000, according to online court records.
