A woman from California has become the latest victim of an alleged serial dine-and-dash-dater, who is accused of repeatedly skipping out on dates before the bill arrives. The unnamed woman said Paul Gonzales straight bailed after eating a massive meal at BJ’s in Pasadena, California.
The woman says she met Gonzales on the dating app Bumble and said Gonzales sent flattering texts before inviting her to dinner. Once at dinner, Gonzales ordered $50 of food for himself: a glass of Pinot, a Caesar salad with a side of shrimp, a steak, and a baked potato.
However, once it came time to pay the bill, Gonzales was nowhere to be found.
Via CBS:
She says after he scarfed down most of his meal he got up.
“He left maybe half a baked potato and then received a phone call and said ‘I need to take this call,’” the woman recalled.
She says he never returned, leaving her with the bill.
“The waiter came back and said he’s not out there, is this a first date? And I said: ‘Yes, this is a first blind date, and he said, ‘he’s gone.’”
Shocked, she went online and discovered previous stories about Gonzales and how he had dined and dashed last summer, leaving at least two other women with large bills.
According to the L.A. County District Attorney’s office, the 44-year-old Gonzales has two warrants out for his arrest after not showing up to court for petty theft and driving without a valid license.
Gonzalez was in the news for this very same offense back in August, when he left Diane Guilmette with a bill after meeting her on the dating app Plenty of Fish (never heard of it).
Via CBS LA:
“He ordered a lot of food. He had an appetizer. He ordered a steak. This restaurant is all al la carte. He even ordered a couple sides, a glass of wine. So he looked like he was really enjoying himself,” Guilmette said. “When we got near to the end of the meal, not quite finished, he said he had to go make a phone call.”
About 15 minutes later, Guilmette realized he wasn’t coming back.
“When I went to message him on the app, he had blocked me. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! Is this really happening right now?’ ” she said.
So, ladies, if you come across a Paul Gonzalez on one of your dating apps, don’t swipe right, ’cause he’s probably going to rob your ass.
