Woman kidnapped and battered by Miami man who said he was rideshare driver: Police

A Miami man is facing charges after police said he kidnapped and repeatedly groped a woman who believed he was her rideshare driver.

Alberto Angulo Lopez, 38, was arrested Tuesday on kidnapping and battery charges in the alleged incident happened in the early morning hours of Feb. 28, 2023, an arrest warrant said.

The victim, who didn't want to be identified, told NBC6 she feels some peace knowing her alleged attacker is locked up.

"At this point, I'm just grateful that somebody that did so much damage to me is finally getting justice done to him," she said.

According to the warrant, the 25-year-old victim said she and a friend had been at Club Vendome on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach but came out and realized their car had been towed.

Miami-Dade Corrections

They acquired transportation to a tow yard from a man whose last name the victim recalled as being Lopez, but the victim said she'd been intoxicated from the alcohol she'd consumed in the club and was in and out of consciousness, the warrant said.

The woman said she was sitting in the back of Lopez's car and at one point woke up and found Lopez was touching her buttocks and breast while her friend had gotten out of the car at the towing company, the warrant said.

When her friend returned, there was a verbal dispute that led to the victim accepting a ride home from Lopez, who told the victim he was a rideshare driver who the victim thought her friend had requested when they left the club, the warrant said.

Lopez helped the victim to the front passenger seat and she gave him her address, but the drive took longer than it would normally as Lopez "seemed to take unnecessary turns to extend the drive," the warrant said.

During the drive Lopez touched the victim's privates over her clothing as she continuously asked him to stop, the warrant said.

"He wouldn't stop touching my private parts ... I would push his hand away and I was having a panic attack while this was going on and I was actively crying and telling him, 'I don't like this, i don’t want you to do this,' and he would put his hand on my leg and go back to where he was," she told NBC6.

The victim contacted her ex-boyfriend and shared her location which showed Lopez had taken her a different route instead of driving her to her home.

Lopez continued to touch the woman's breasts, asking if they were real, and made another lewd comment, the warrant said.

After the victim told Lopez her family was looking for her and the police would be contacted, Lopez eventually dropped the victim off at the ex-boyfriend's home.

Lopez asked her for money for the ride and gas, and she sent him $50 through a phone app "since she feared him being aggressive toward her," the warrant said.

"I just remembered feeling like I was going to die," the victim said. "And my best thought was, 'I'm going to have to let this man rape me,' and then basically, like hopefully, he takes like pity when he’s done and he can just take me home. But thought I was going to die."

The victim was able to obtain his photo and number after sending him the money, and later identified Lopez in a photo lineup, the warrant said.

Investigators used cell phone location information and license plate reader information that showed the route Lopez took from the club.

Police attempted to meet with Lopez on several occasions but he failed to show up at the Miami Beach Police Department to cooperate with the investigation, the warrant said.

Lopez was booked into a Miami-Dade jail on Tuesday and remained held without bond Wednesday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.