Former Taco Bell Marketing Manager Pleads Guilty To Battery Of Uber Driver, Sentenced To 60 Days In Jail
WESTMINSTER (CBSLA.com) — A former Taco Bell marketing employee caught on camera attacking an Uber driver in Costa Mesa pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, according to prosecutors.
Benjamin Allen Golden, 33, pleaded guilty to a count of battery on a taxi driver. Misdemeanor counts of battery against a transportation worker, assault and battery were dismissed.
Golden was placed on three years of informal probation, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
The incident happened on Oct. 30, 2015, when Golden called for an Uber because he had been drinking while celebrating Halloween.
His attorney, Courtney Pilchman, was not immediately available for comment, but she had previously pointed out that Golden quickly publicly apologized to the driver, Edward Caban, 24, who said he had to quit his job and move out of state because he was so upset about the conflict.
Golden lost his job at Taco Bell following widespread publicity about the attack.
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Caban said through his attorney last year he put the camera in his vehicle after consulting with other Uber drivers, who complained that some customers lie about problems to get refunds or are too drunk to give proper instructions.
Caban installed the camera with a GPS function to prove where he has driven his vehicle, said his attorney at the time, Rivers Morrell III. The camera usually faces forward, but Caban swung it around the night of the run-in with Golden, the lawyer said.
"... he saw this thing starting to escalate," Morrell said. "That's why he turned it around, so he could document that this happened. Otherwise, it would be his word against someone else, so a lot of the drivers are starting to do this."
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Golden only remembered being arrested, Pilchman said last November.
"The only sort of recollection that he has is getting arrested, but he did watch the video and he was appalled at the behavior and did not recognize the behavior," she said.
"This was something beyond out of character for him," she said.
The alleged assault happened about 8:10 that night in Costa Mesa, according to police.
Caban is seen being struck numerous times in the video, but he did not need medical treatment, Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott said.
Golden had called for an Uber driver to pick him up from a Newport Beach bar.
He struggled to tell Caban where he wanted to go, so Caban eventually stopped in a parking lot at 1835 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa and told him to get out, Scott said.
Golden "punched and slapped the side of the driver's face," the lieutenant said.
On the video, Golden can be seen in the back seat of the car with the door open, but he leans forward and repeatedly hits the driver in the head, then grabs him by the hair and tries to slam his head into the driver's side door window.
Caban -- acting in self-defense -- pepper-sprayed Golden, Scott said.
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