A Miami man is facing serious charges after one woman said she was sexually battered and another said she was robbed by him after they got in his SUV that they believed was their Uber ride, police said.
Yadir Alejandro Gongora, 39, was arrested Wednesday on charges of sexual battery and strongarm robbery, an arrest report said.
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According to the report, the alleged incident happened around 3 a.m. on Sept. 30, when the two women who are tourists said they left a club in the Wynwood area and got into a black SUV they believed to be their Uber.
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The driver, Gongora, started to take them to the Miami Beach hotel they were staying at but pulled over somewhere in Miami Beach and got into the back seat, the report said.
As one victim was sleeping, Gongora took her purse which contained her credit cards, ID, Ecuadorian passport and iPhone, the report said.
Gongora handed the purse off to an unidentified suspect who fled the area in another vehicle, the report said.
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Gongora then got back in the SUV and sexually battered the other victim as she pleaded with him to stop, the report said.
He tried to pull her into the SUV's third row but she was able to stop him, so he got back in the driver's seat and took them near their hotel, where he parked and physically removed them from the SUV, the report said.
The woman who'd been sexually battered was trying to call 911 and delay Gongora from leaving but when he realized what she was doing, he got back in the SUV and fled, with the passenger door completely open, the report said.
Surveillance footage captured the SUV near the hotel and fleeing with the door open, the report said.
And about 40 minutes after the incident, the victim's cell phone pinged in the likely direction of travel to Gongora's home, the report said.
Officers were able to identify the SUV and the registered owner, Gongora, who was taken into custody.
Gongora denied the allegations made by the women and said the only time he stopped before arriving at the hotel was to allow one of the victims to vomit, the report said.
He said before the women got out of the SUV, he got into a verbal altercation with them over the location of one of their purses which they accused him of taking, the report said.
When detectives asked Gongora for consent for DNA swabs, he ended the interview and requested a lawyer, the report said.
Gongora was booked into jail, where re remained held on a $25,000 bond Thursday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
In a statement, an Uber spokesperson said Gongora is not a driver on their platform.
Uber officials also remind riders to double check the important details provided before starting a trip, including the car make and model, license plate, driver name, and photo. Riders should always confirm this information before getting into the car, the ride share company says.
"Always use caution when utilizing a ride share service. We want to make sure that when you use your application that you identify the vehicle tag and the driver," Miami Beach Police Sgt. Shantell Mitchell said. "You can share your location with a family member or a friend and if anything just doesn't seem right, use your intuition and if there's an emergency always dial 911."
