Philly Man Used Grindr to Carjack People

A Philadelphia man has admitted to using Grindr to carjack people. (Getty Images)

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Philly Man Used Grindr to Carjack People

Imagine that you’re just trying to have sex with some random person on the internet and that, instead, you wind up with a Glock in your face. That’s exactly what happened repeatedly thanks to 22-year-old Philadelphia resident Isiah Surzano-Glover and his friends.

Surzano-Glover was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison for his role in a scheme to use Grindr to carjack people. First, he and his accomplices would pose as a beautiful young woman named Mercedes on Grindr. Men naturally wanted to meet this fake Mercedes person, and Surzano-Glover and his friends would set a meeting place and ask the unsuspecting victim what kind of car they’d be showing up in. And when they showed up in said car, Surzano-Glover and the others, all masked, walked up to the car, brandished guns, and told the guys to vamoose, which they did.

Surzano-Glover plead guilty to two counts of carjacking, but he admitted to prosecutors that he did it on other occasions as well.

Just another argument for ditching Grindr and the other the apps and meeting people the old fashioned way. Be careful out there!

From the People-You-Should-Know Department

Kathryn Ott Lovell isn’t a household name. But the head of Philadelphia Visitor Center is one of the most connected people in the city, the kind of person who knows anyone who’s anyone. In this interview from the July issue of Philly Mag, she answers lots of my burning questions including: Is it the semiquincentennial, the sestercentennial, the bisesquicentennial, or the quarter-millennial?

From the Bad Luck Department

South Street bar Sonny’s Cocktail Joint was forced to close a few years ago due to a fire in an apartment upstairs. There was extensive fire damage. Sonny’s recently reopened. But now it’s closed again due to flooding. Ugh, it’s a great bar, and I hope they get back on their feet soon.

By the Numbers

$8 million: Judgment a South Jersey woman was just awarded in her lawsuit against a Philadelphia man who stole nude photos of her and posted them online. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because the same man was just charged the other day with stealing nude photos from five people and posting them online. A decade ago, the same guy was convicted of secretly recording college students inside their bathrooms. Creep!

0: Expectation I had yesterday that I would be telling you today that there’s a peacock on the loose in Bucks County. True story: I was once at the Philadelphia Zoo with my kids when we saw a peacock wander into the bear area. It didn’t end well for the peacock.

$65 million: State funding that organizers of next year’s 250th birthday celebrations are seeking to support all of the events. But it’s an uphill battle. And some are worried that the events may be in jeopardy.

Local Talent

And the Emmy goes to… well, we’ll have to wait until September when the awards are announced. But the nominations came out yesterday, and Philly got several nods. Abbott Elementary was nominated for outstanding comedy series, and creator/star Quinta Brunson as well as Abbott‘s Sheryl Lee Ralph landed individual nominations for their work on the show. Overbrook High School grad Colman Domingo received a nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his work on The Four Seasons. And in the outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie category, there’s Brian Tyree Henry from the Philly-set Dope Thief. Henry came from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to shoot Dope Thief and fell in love with the city. He reportedly continues to rent an apartment in the city. Here, he tells the New York Times all about his favorite Philly spots.