3 juveniles charged, accused of attacking 2 men in Ellisville

ELLISVILLE, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Three juveniles have been arrested and charged in attacks on two men on the same night in Ellisville, prosecutors say.

The three juveniles have been charged with two counts of first-degree assault, second-degree attempted robbery, first-degree property damage motivated by discrimination and second-degree property damage motivated by discrimination.

Prosecutors say all three juveniles are being held at the St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center. The charges were issued by the St. Louis County Family Court. Under Missouri Law, the identity of juvenile suspects is not typically open record.

According to investigators, the first victim went to Bluebird Park in Ellisville on Oct. 21 around 2:20 a.m. after making plans to meet with a man named “Adam,” who he had met on Grindr.

Investigators say the victim was ambushed by a group of people who repeatedly punched and kicked him. The victim told police his attackers had yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him and demanded his property during the attack.

The victim was able to escape, police say, and went to the Ellisville Police Department. There, investigators say detectives used license plate reader cameras to find the vehicle the suspects were in.

During the police’s investigation into the attack against the first victim, they say they learned that another man was attacked in Ellisville on the same night. Prosecutors say all three juveniles facing charges participated in this second attack as well.

Investigators say around 3 a.m., 40 minutes after the first attack in Bluebird Park, a second victim went to meet a man named “Adam,” who he also met on Grindr. This man says he and “Adam” had planned to meet in the 15900 block of Manchester Road, which is also in Ellisville.

This victim was also attacked by the three juvenile suspects.

Police say neither victim went to these meetups with the intention of meeting with a juvenile.

An 18-year-old was previously charged in the first attack. Those charges have since been dropped, with the prosecuting attorney’s office saying he has been cleared of criminal involvement in the assaults.

“Both our office and law enforcement take these attacks very seriously, and I encourage anyone else who believes they may have been victimized by these assailants to contact their local police department,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price-Smith said in a press release. “We are grateful to the Ellisville Police Department for their extensive and ongoing investigation.”