Over the past four months, Escondido Police Department was alerted to four different adult males that had been lured to an apartment in the city. The males had chatted with another male via the Grindr App and agreed to meet. Each of the victims stated the male gave a fake name and posed as a white male on Grindr. When the suspect, 28 year old Tobias Bartee, a black male, answered the door the victims were told that the fictitious white roommate was not at home. The victims were then forcibly restrained and sexually assaulted. Two of the victims witnessed the suspect with a handgun.
On September 15th, detectives from the Escondido Police Department, assisted by members of the
SWAT team, served a search warrant and arrested Bartee at his residence. He was arrested per PC
209(b)(1) – Kidnap with intent to commit Rape, PC 286(c)(2)(A) – Sodomy by Force, PC 287(c)(2)(A) – Oral Copulation by Force, PC 220(B) – Assault with intent to commit Rape, PC245(a)(4) – ADW – Strangulation.
Bartee was using photographs of other people and portraying them as himself. The Escondido Police Department is urging anyone else who may have been a victim of Bartee to reach out to contact Detective Jesse Santaniello at (760) 839-4768.
