The REAL Tinder Scammers? Phoenix man shows up for online date only to be ROBBED at gunpoint for $3,000 by a couple, 32 and 33, before leading cops on a violent chase through cities
- Jose Sandoval Jaquez, 32, and Crystal Hulsey, 33, lured their victim into a hotel room on the morning of September 17 before robbing her at gunpoint
- He gave out his cell phone and bank details before being taken to a bank in his own car and forced to withdraw money
- The couple took their car on a trip to Las Vegas, where police tried to stop them, but they abandoned the car and fled
- The two were arrested after several days on the run and led police on a hundred-mile chase that ended in a car crash in Happy Jack, Arizona
A couple have been arrested for robbing a man at gunpoint after setting up a fake date on Tinder.
Jose Sandoval Jaquez, 32, and Crystal Hulsey, 33, stole a total of $3,000 from the unnamed victim when they met at the Embassy Suites hotel in Phoenix.
The pair pulled a gray pistol on him and forced him to drive to a nearby Chase ATM to withdraw $900 before getting away with the loot.
They also forced him to give up his phone, ID cards, social media accounts and banking information, stealing a total of $3,000.
Jaquez and Hulsey were eventually brought to justice after a dramatic police chase after police discovered their online advertisement for escort services.
At 10:00 a.m. on September 17, the victim, who had expected to meet “Sonya,” was instead met by Jose Sandoval Jaquez (left), 32, and Crystal Hulsey (right), 33, in an Embassy Suites hotel room . In the room, Jaquez pointed a gray pistol at him, according to court records
The Embassy Suites hotel in Phoenix where the victim expected to meet his Tinder date Sonya around 10 a.m. on September 17. Instead, he was robbed at gunpoint, losing his bank account details and car
At 10:00 a.m. on September 17, the victim was scheduled to meet “Sonya” but was instead met by Jaquez and Hulsey in an Embassy Suites hotel room.
In the room, Jaquez pointed a gray pistol at him, according to court records.
“As they drove his car to the bank, the unidentified man continued to have his gun drawn and was giving instructions to the victim,” police said in a report.
The couple then took the victim’s car to Las Vegas. Seven days later, after the first robbery on September 25, the police tried to stop them, but they abandoned the car and fled. Police found the gray pistol in the victim’s abandoned car.
After days on the run, Phoenix police were able to locate the couple because they used their real names for hotel bookings.
They eventually located the suspects by arranging a meeting with Hulsey, who posed online as the escort and announced her phone number.
On September 28, they identified her outside a La Quinta Inn in Phoenix in a Nissan Rogue that Jaquez was driving.
Jaquez sped away and led police on a wrong-side-of-the-road chase that spanned several cities, according to a police report.
During the chase, the SUV ran out of gas, so Jaquez crashed into another car and stole it to continue the escape.
The La Quinta Inn, where Phoenix police agreed to meet the couple after they spent several days on the run and a trip to Las Vegas. Jaquez made off in a Nissan Rogue and led police on a chase that ended more than a hundred miles north
The suspects initially fled east of Phoenix towards the East Valley, heading to Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert.
They eventually crashed the stolen car into another vehicle near Happy Jack, Arizona, more than a hundred miles from the pursuit’s starting point.
Before the couple could flee, a Ministry of Public Security helicopter landed and police officers arrested them.
In an interview with police, Jaquez admitted that he had pulled a man out of a car and said his girlfriend had come with him. A police report said Jaquez stated that he tried to steal another car but was arrested. He also identified himself in photographs at the Embassy Suites.
“Jose said he knew this would come back for him,” Phoenix police said.
Hulsey was charged with assault, robbery, vehicle theft, kidnapping and drug offenses. Jaquez was charged with assault, robbery, vehicle theft and kidnapping.