Dating app encounter turns into deadly botched robbery after victim shoots woman’s boyfriend, police say

Man shot woman’s boyfriend after couple tried to rob him at gunpoint

Police lights (WDIV)

HOUSTON – A dating app encounter in Houston turned deadly this week after a couple allegedly tried to rob a man who went to meet up with a woman he met on the online platform.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies said a 23-year-old man went to meet up with a woman he connected with on a dating app at her apartment around 1 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex on North Vista Drive in Houston.

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ABC13 reported that the man was meeting up with Rachel Juarez, who walked him to her apartment where her boyfriend was waiting.

Investigators told ABC13 that Juarez and her boyfriend tried to rob the man by demanding his belongings while holding him at gunpoint.

The boyfriend then escorted the victim back to the parking lot where police say the victim grabbed a rifle from his vehicle and shot the boyfriend to death.

KHOU reported that the boyfriend was pronounced dead at the scene in a breezeway of the apartment complex.

The boyfriend was later identified as 23-year-old Ronjai Cook. He was found with a fake gun near his body that was wrapped in duct tape, according to ABC13.

During the shooting, Juarez called 911 and reported that an armed man was in her apartment.

Juarez was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery.

The sheriff’s office told ABC13 that the homicide case will go to a grand jury following an investigation.

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