Everman deputy fire chief used ‘hook-up app' to hire man to rape woman, affidavits say

Yahoo

05-04-2025

A North Texas deputy fire chief is accused of using a 'hook-up app' to hire a man to sexually assault a woman who he claimed agreed to the attack as part of a rape role play fantasy, according to arrest warrant affidavits.
The victim told Fort Worth police that she did not know about the plan or consent to the assault, the court documents state.
Both men — Everman Deputy Fire Chief Joel Jones and Tobasia Griffiths — were arrested by Fort Worth police last week. Griffiths, 30, is charged with aggravated sexual assault in the case. Jones, 53, is charged with aggravated sexual assault and criminal solicitation of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, according to Tarrant County court records.
The victim told investigators that she was in bed at her Fort Worth home on Feb. 21 when Griffiths came into her room and raped her, according to the affidavits. The woman said she was able to escape and run out of the house after she told Griffiths she needed to use the bathroom.
Griffiths later found the woman on the street and threatened to kill her if she reported the assault, the affidavits state.
The woman went to a hospital, where she filed a report with police. Detectives said they were able to identify Griffiths through security video that showed his car in the victim's driveway and a partial license plate number that she saw.
Jones is accused of paying Griffiths $100 via Zelle to commit the assault, according to the court documents.
Griffiths told sex crimes detectives that he met Jones through an app called Sniffies, where they exchanged messages to plan the assault, and that Jones told him the woman would consent, the affidavits state. The Sniffies website describes it as a 'map-based cruising app for the curious.'
After the first assault, messages between the two suspects show they conspired to commit a second sexual assault involving a kidnapping, but that attack was not carried out, according to the affidavits.
Jones was arrested on March 26 and is being held in the Tarrant County Jail on $300,000 bond. Griffiths was released from jail on $25,000 bond.
Jones' neighbors told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that just days before his arrest, the deputy fire chief went door to door in his neighborhood and warned residents that there was a sexual predator in the area.
In a statement, Everman Fire Department Chief Landon Whatley said that Jones' arrest is not related to his work with the department and that the deputy chief has been placed on administrative leave.
'The nature of the allegations and charges are deeply concerning,' Whatley said. 'Department command staff is fully cooperating with the Fort Worth Police Department as they investigate this incident. ... We want to assure the public that we take matters such as this extremely seriously.'