Uber Driver, 46, Arraigned On Passenger Assault, Theft Charges
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities said a 46-year-old Uber driver was arraigned on charges Thursday he assaulted a client with his vehicle.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that 46-year-old Phillip Reid Bagwell of Sherman Oaks faces one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted extortion and one misdemeanor count of petty theft.
The DA says Bagwell was previously convicted of three felonies: grand theft in 1990 and 1998, and forgery in 1991.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at Los Angeles County Superior Court. Bagwell was ordered to stand trial last month.
According to court testimony, Bagwell was the Uber driver for a woman traveling to a comedy club in West Hollywood on July 9. The woman said she forgot her cellphone in the defendant's car but managed to call him seeking to get her phone back, the prosecutor said.
When Bagwell returned he allegedly refused to give the phone back unless the victim paid him, the DA added. The defendant then allegedly drove off, causing the victim to fall down. Bagwell nearly ran her over, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.
If convicted as charged, Bagwell faces a possible maximum sentence of four years and eight months in state prison.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, West Hollywood station.