A Texas man will spend decades behind bars after prosecutors say he used a dating app to lure victims into deadly encounters.
Jer Auntey Pleasant, 25, was sentenced Friday to four 50-year prison terms for the murders of two men, along with convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
All of the sentences will run at the same time.
Authorities say Pleasant began his string of crimes in March 2022 after meeting a victim through the dating app Grindr, which is widely used in the LGBTQ community.
According to prosecutors, Pleasant arranged to meet the man through the app before attempting to rob him. During the encounter, he shot the victim.
Just a few months later, in July 2022, Pleasant sexually assaulted a 13-year-old child. Investigators later connected him to the crime through DNA evidence, prosecutors said.
Officials believe Pleasant continued using a similar method the following year.
Prosecutors say he carried out two separate killings on back-to-back days in April 2023.
Using the name “Derek” on Grindr, Pleasant allegedly communicated with 54-year-old Larry Wilson and arranged to meet him at the Banyan Tree Apartments in San Antonio.
On April 14, 2023, Wilson met Pleasant and was fatally shot.
The following day, 22-year-old Joseph West was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators quickly connected the two cases after finding key pieces of evidence at both crime scenes.
According to prosecutors, fingerprints belonging to Pleasant were discovered at each location. Ballistics testing also showed that the same firearm had been used in both killings.
One piece of evidence that helped link the cases was Pleasant’s fingerprint found on condom wrappers recovered at the scenes.
At the time of the murders, Wilson’s brother warned about the dangers of meeting strangers through dating apps.
“I feel in my heart he was set up,” Johnny Wilson told local media after the killings. “Them dating apps nowadays — you’ve got to watch out. It can be setups.”