ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A 20-year-old man used Tinder to lure in victims and steal their cars, according to St. Louis County police and the prosecuting attorney’s office.
Franklin Jones is accused of stealing seven vehicles all within a few blocks of his home in north county. The incidents happened on Linnell Drive and Rigsby Drive from Nov. 4 – Dec. 14.
Jones used the Tinder dating app to talk to the victims, police said. Once they arrived at or near his home, he stole their vehicles.
In two of the incidents, the victims said Jones pulled out a gun and carjacked them.
Shortly after stealing a BMW at gunpoint, police said officers tried to stop Jones in the car to arrest him, but he refused to pull over. Jones ended up crashing the car in Illinois and was arrested, St. Louis County police said.
Jones was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of stealing a vehicle and one count of resisting arrest. He confessed to the crimes, St. Louis County police said. Jones is being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond.
