Jer Auntey Pleasant, 25, has been sentenced to four 50-year sentences running concurrently for the murders of two people and two other unrelated crimes.
SAN ANTONIO — A man who killed two people he lured through a dating app in 2023 has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said.
Jer Auntey Pleasant, 25, has been sentenced to four 50-year sentences for the murders of 54-year-old Larry Wilson and 22-year-old Joseph West, as well as for aggravated robbery and aggravated sexual assault of a child, all sentences running concurrently.
In April 2023, Pleasant committed two separate murders in two consecutive days, court records say.
On April 14, Wilson was found shot to death in his vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot on Cross Creek in northeast San Antonio. Investigators accessed his phone and found messages with Pleasant, who called himself “Derek” on the Grindr dating app.
KENS 5 spoke with the Wilson family at the time. The victim’s brother Johnny Wilson believes Larry was set up.
“I feel in my heart he was set up,” he said. “Them dating apps nowadays. You’ve got to watch out. It can be setups.”
The Pride Center San Antonio, which empowers the city’s LGBTQ+ community, was horrified by the murders. Robert Salcido Jr., is the executive director of the organization.
“We need to look at the violence that is happening and how we can prevent it,” he said.
The next day, West was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.
Key evidence including fingerprints matching Pleasant were found at both murder scenes. Also found was ballistics confirming the same firearm was used, which made investigators quickly determine the two scenes were connected.
Court records show Pleasant had also committed two unrelated crimes in 2022.
The first crime was an aggravated robbery in March, which was fairly similar to his murders later on. He met the victim through Grindr and shot them during a robbery attempt, documents say.
The second crime was the aggravated assault of a 13-year-old child in July, in which DNA evidence suggested Pleasant was the suspect.
On Friday, Pleasant was sentenced to four 50-year sentences for these crimes to run concurrently.