Two armed robbery suspects arrested. Fresno police say they lured victims via Tinder

Fresno police said Thursday evening that two suspects have been arrested on armed robbery charges for allegedly luring victims through the Tinder dating app.

The two arrested, 21-year-old Eric Newsome and a 17-year-old boy, were part of a group that carried out six armed robberies between Feb. 2 and Feb. 15, according to police. The suspects asked people they met on the app to come to specific locations, where they would lie in wait to rob the victims at gunpoint, police said.

On one occasion a victim was pistol-whipped and had moderate injuries, police said, but no other victims were injured in the robberies.

Detectives said they recovered a loaded handgun while taking the suspects into custody. Both have been charged in multiple robberies and face other related charges, police said.

The Fresno Police Department is urging anyone with additional information to contact Detectives Parvinder Dhillon at 559-621-2081 or Eric Hill at 559-621-2082.

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Two armed robbery suspects arrested. Fresno police say they lured victims via Tinder."