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A Dallas man pleaded guilty Wednesday to multiple charges stemming from a 2017 spree in which he and three others kidnapped, assaulted and robbed gay men who they had lured through the Grindr social-networking app.
Daniel Jenkins, 22, and his three accomplices attacked at least nine men ranging from 19 to 57 years old, court documents state. Victims were held against their will inside a vacant East Dallas apartment, where they were subjected to homophobic taunting and physical assaults, the records state.
“These defendants brutalized multiple victims, singling them out due to their sexual orientation. We cannot allow this sort of violence to fester unchecked,” said Prerak Shah, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting hate crimes. In the meantime, we urge dating app users to remain vigilant. Unfortunately, predators often lurk online.”
Jenkins faces up to 26 years in prison for committing a hate crime, taking part in a conspiracy, kidnapping, carjacking and using a firearm in a violent crime, court documents state. Each charge also carries a potential $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 6.
Jenkins’ lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The three accomplices — Michael Atkinson, 24, Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon, 19, and Daryl Henry, 24 — pleaded guilty to various charges in 2019, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Once the victims arrived, the assailants forced them into the apartment, an empty unit at the Solana Ridge complex near Buckner Boulevard and Forney Road. The men were robbed, pistol-whipped, beaten and sexually assaulted, federal authorities have said.
At least two victims were smeared with feces and urinated on, and one victim was assaulted with an object, court documents state.
The victims were robbed of their wallets, money, car keys, cars, driver’s licenses, other identification cards, cellphones and credit cards, according to documents. In every case, men forced their victim to withdraw money from an ATM at gunpoint, records state.
The spree ended after one of their victims escaped and alerted authorities.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in a signed memo last week that the Justice Department is taking steps to more effectively combat hate crimes, including efforts to expedite the review of reported incidents.
In a written statement Thursday regarding Jenkins’ guilty plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who works in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said her office is committed to “confronting the scourge of hate-based violence” in the U.S.
“We will continue to diligently investigate and prosecute violent, bias-motivated crimes to the fullest extent,” Clarke wrote. “As noted by Attorney General Garland, we stand ready to use every tool in our arsenal to address the rise in hate, and we will work to hold perpetrators of hate-motivated violence accountable.”