Kansas City man accused of holding Grindr date hostage with gun at downtown luxury hotel
A Kansas City man is accused of holding another man he met over the dating app Grindr hostage for hours inside a downtown hotel room before robbing him and then trying to kidnap him.
Irakoze Jackson, 22, was charged Saturday in Jackson County Circuit Court with first-degree robbery, kidnapping, trafficking stolen identities and two counts of armed criminal action. He was being held in the Jackson County jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond following his arrest.
His attorney has not responded to a request for comment.
Around 3:45 a.m. on Feb. 11, the Friday before Valentine’s Day, Kansas City police officers were called to the Loews Hotel at 1515 Wyandotte Avenue near the Power & Light District, according to charging documents filed in the case. There they met a man who said he had been tied up and held at gunpoint by a stranger.
The victim, a Utah resident, told detectives he was visiting Kansas City on business when he decided to check out the local scene on Grindr, a dating app popular among gay people. He exchanged messages with a man who went by “D” and invited him to his hotel room.
The alleged kidnapper arrived around 11 p.m. and knocked on the door. Once inside he started to push the victim around “under the pretense he was into kink,” the charging document says. Then he allegedly showed a gun.
The victim told police he was forced to strip and then was tied up with charger cords. The alleged gunman searched through the room and found his wallet with $600 and credit cards inside. He then allegedly forced the victim to transfer money into Venmo and CashApp accounts, according to court papers.
Afterward, the victim told police, the man called up two associates to meet at the hotel so they could kidnap him.
Surveillance video from inside the hotel allegedly showed the suspect, identified as Jackson, escorting the victim at gunpoint through the hotel. When they reached the lobby the victim ran toward the front desk, screaming for help and for staff to call 911, according to court papers.
Roughly four weeks later, Jackson was arrested for allegedly eluding police during an attempted vehicle stop. Inside a black Dodge Charger investigators found six credit cards that belonged to the victim.
The victim was shown a photo lineup, where he said he was 85 to 90% sure Jackson was the person who robbed him, according to court papers. He was arrested by Riverside police Saturday.
Police also collected DNA swabs from electronic devices the suspect allegedly touched during the hotel room encounter. Court records show a search warrant was granted for Jackson’s DNA on Saturday, though it remained unclear whether any comparison tests had been completed as of Wednesday.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 9:29 AM.
