EDISON, NJ (1010 WINS) — Two New Jersey men led police to would-be predators by posing as a 15-year-old boy on the Grindr app only to also face criminal charges themselves, authorities said Monday.
The men, a 34-year-old from Edison and a 26-year-old from Springfield, lured two people to face-to-face meetings through the app by pretending to be an underage boy and planned to separately meet with them at different Edison locations, officials said.
At two of the meetings, they allegedly made the men sit in the back seat of a car, interrogating and threatening them for an hour. Police said the men made threats of castration and exposure of their activities on their YouTube channel.
A third meeting with a potential predator was interrupted after he fled when confronted at the meeting spot, police said.
Authorities arrested 29-year-old Anthony Cotos and 21-year-old Jordan Grundy and charged them with enticing a child and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Deputy Chief Robert Dudash said the 34-year-old man who acted as a teen on the app filed a report with Edison cops early Wednesday morning that led to the charges against Cotos and Grundy. According to Dudash, the man was “more than willing to explain” everything he and the 26-year-old man did in their quest to catch the potential predators.
But all the detailed information led police to charge the two vigilantes with a disorderly person offense of third-degree criminal restraint and terroristic threat.
Two other men attempted to interfere with police when they arrested the 34-year-old man which led to charges. A 38-year-old was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and a 63-year-old was charged with obstructing the administration of law and resisting arrest. Both were issued summonses and released.
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