Suspects arrested after blind date robberies

Mountain View police have arrested three teen suspects after a series of dates left victims robbed blind.

On at least three occasions since May, victims agreed to meet a woman called Geraldine off dating website Badoo.com. Each time, the woman requested the victim to bring around $2,000 in cash, as it was her fantasy to have an orgy with a bunch of Benjamins.

Ridiculous, yes — but it worked.

Police say the alleged masterminds behind the scam are 19-year-olds Nazario Cruz of Mountain View and Jose Urias of East Palo Alto.

The Thursday morning arrests also included a girl, 17, whose identity has not been released because of her age.

Detective Kevin Galloway, the case’s lead investigator, said police have been working diligently to crack the case:

“This case was non-trivial and required us to really strategize how we were going to uncover these suspects who were extremely brazen in their tactics.”

The three confirmed incidents occurred in just eight days.

The victims were lured to Westwood Garden Apartments on Tyrella Avenue with cash in hand. But instead of meeting their sexy date, police say the men were robbed outside the apartment complex by two men who carried a knife and gun.

In each instance, the victims left uninjured — though one was also jacked for a gold ring and iPhone. Another was subsequently fired for allegedly stealing the $2,000 from his employer.

The suspects’ locations were traced after police used communications sent between the robbers and victims, said Sgt. Sean Thompson of the Mountain View Police Department:

“We’re very relieved to get these people off the streets.”