Serial ‘Dine and Dash Dater’ Is on a Rampage in Los Angeles
In what may be one of the most annoying stories in the annals of modern dating, a serial dine-and-dasher in the Los Angeles area appears to be active again, as CBS Los Angeles is reporting.
The man, who has been identified as Paul Gonzales but has gone by Dave Gonzales online, reportedly meets women online — most recently via the popular Bumble app — invites them to expensive dinners, and leaves them in the lurch with the bill.
As the CBS story indicates, the latest victim of this dashing (in more ways than one) 44-year-old man wants her identity to remain anonymous. Going simply by the name Beth, she said that the suspect asked her out to dinner on a Sunday night, to a restaurant called BJ’s in Pasadena. He proceeded to order a hefty meal, including “A glass of pinot, a Caesar salad with a side of shrimp, a steak and a baked potato.” After eating most of his $50 meal, the man excused himself to take a phone call and never returned.
This wouldn’t be much of a story, beyond simple chatter over a glass of wine with friends, if this wasn’t another in a series of incidents from the same perpetrator. After being abandoned by Gonzales, Beth looked her situation up online and found out he had struck before. Local news had picked up Gonzales’s trail in August 2016 when he abandoned a previous date — and a bill for over $100 at a steakhouse in Burbank — and ditched two different Burbank hair salons without paying.
Gonzales’s notorious ditching habit extends beyond dining and grooming. According to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, he has warrants out for petty theft and driving without a license.
While obviously embarrassing for the women who’ve fallen prey to Gonzales’s slippery ways, one of them was at least comped her meal. Meanwhile, women around the Los Angeles area may want to be wary. Since demanding cash upfront will likely be awkward, perhaps stick to coffee on a first date.
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