BEDFORD COUNTY, VA. – UPDATE
Roanoke County police said they arrested four more people in connection with this incident: Angelique Glovier, Steven Moses, Robin Nester and Joshua Dodson.
As 10 News previously reported, Michelle Nester and Khairajin Sims are in custody and both facing charges in connection with an abduction and robbery last month that spanned Roanoke and Bedford counties.
ORIGINAL STORY
Police are investigating after a meetup on the popular dating app Tinder left one man beaten, tied-up and robbed by a number of suspects according to court documents.
Both the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and Roanoke County Police Department are on this case.
Bedford County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Christian Edmondson has worked on the case, and while she’s worked robberies and abductions before, she’s never worked anything like this.
“You know it’s not something that we typically see like you said, with adults, that kind of thing, from what we’ve determined it was very unexpected," Edmondson said.
Michelle Nester and Khairajin Sims are in custody, and other suspects are still wanted. The Sheriff’s Office has asked us not to name the victim, but search warrants reveal the victim met up with Nester from Tinder, the popular dating app, and then things went south.
“We received a call from an adult male here in the county stating that he had been robbed, abducted and beaten and he had been brought back to his apartment," Edmondson said.
Warrants state in mid-September the victim and Nester smoked weed at Nester’s Roanoke County’s house before he passed out and then later woke up to six people beating him, demanding money.
The warrant goes on to say they locked the victim in the bathroom and stole his bank cards; they then left to get cash. The victim told police the suspects then returned back and wanted more from him. He told police that he told the suspects he had more at his house, which led them to tie him up, throw him in the back of his car and then drive to his apartment in Forest. The warrant states they ransacked his house, stealing electronics and clothing. It also states Nester was captured on the victim’s home security camera.
“You know he was beaten in Roanoke County and was robbed of some items there ... before being transported back to Bedford County," Edmondson said.
The victim also told police the assailants all had guns, and that he was sexually assaulted. The warrant also states the victim suffered an ear injury and that the victim told police the suspects said they were going to rip his ear off.
Edmondson would not comment on if she felt the victim was set up, but said it wasn’t their first time meeting.
“They had had probably four to five meetings prior to the night that this happened," Edmondson said.
Police continue their investigation and the case will be heard in court.
If you have any information you’re asked to contact police.