The Bloomington police department sent the following press release to members of the media Friday:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
________________________________________________________________
April 15, 2022
For more information, please contact:
Captain Ryan Pedigo
Bloomington Police Department
(812)349-3324
Bloomington Police Arrest Man for Robbery and Kidnapping
On April 6th, 2022 at approximately 6:15 a.m., officers responded to the 2900 block of E Amy Lane in reference to a report of a prior robbery. The victim, a 30 year-old man, reported that he had met an unknown man on the dating app Grindr and had invited the man to his apartment for consensual sexual activity around 2:00 a.m. The victim reported that the suspect wore a face-covering and requested that the lights inside the apartment be turned off so he could not be identified.
After engaging in consensual sexual activity, the victim stated that the suspect produced a large knife, held it to his neck, and threatened to kill him if he did not give him all of his money. The victim reported that he showed the suspect that his wallet did not contain any cash, but that he did have credit cards. The suspect then covered the victim’s face with a coat and forced him to walk outside to the suspect’s vehicle. Upon arriving at the vehicle, the victim stated that the suspect struck him in the face before telling him to get in the back seat. The suspect drove the victim to a nearby ATM twice in an attempt to get cash using the victim’s credit cards. He then took the victim back to the victim’s residence where he deleted the Grindr app from the victim’s phone before leaving. The suspect also reportedly again threatened to kill the victim and told the victim not to call the police.
A court order was provided to a nearby bank and surveillance footage from the ATM was received on April 14th. In the footage from the early morning hours of April 6th, the suspect’s vehicle could be seen at the ATM twice and the license plate on the suspect’s vehicle was visible. Investigators were then able to locate the suspect’s vehicle parked in the 1200 block N. Lincoln Street in Bloomington and began surveilling the nearby residences. A man matching the suspect’s description was seen entering and exiting a residence and going to the vehicle used by the suspect on April 6th. Therefore, investigators petitioned the Court for a search warrant for both the residence and the vehicle and it was granted. At approximately 9:35 p.m., detectives knocked on the suspect’s door and were greeted by a man identified as Da’Shaun Brown (21, Bloomington). Detectives then searched the residence and located clothing worn by the suspect on the night of the incident, as well as three credit cards with the victim’s name on them.
After interviewing Da’Shaun Brown, he was transported to the Monroe County Jail and remanded for the following charges:
- Robbery, level 3 felony
- Kidnapping, level 3 felony
- Battery with Bodily Injury, A misdemeanor
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Under Indiana law, criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.“
