Police: Ride-share driver first arrested on fraud charges in Miami now facing sexual assault allegations
MIAMI — A ride-share driver who was initially arrested on fraud charges in Miami is now facing new sexual assault allegations, police stated.
In a statement provided by City of Miami Police on Saturday, 49-year-old Danny Estalin Maurad-Avecillas was originally arrested and initially charged with two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of fraudulent possession of identification earlier this month. However, it turns out that he may be connected to a bigger investigation.
According to Miami PD, the investigation involves a ride-share driver using a "silver or black SUV" who is suspected of targeting women in the evening hours, waiting for their ride-share, luring them in, intoxicating, robbing and possibly sexually assaulting them.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by CBS News Miami, police responded to a January 12 incident, where the victim said she had left South Beach in an Uber and "woke up naked" inside of a motel with no recollection of how she got there.
She then told police that she was visiting from California with her two male friends. According to the affidavit, the group departed their Airbnb in Miami Beach and went to the bar Zari. Upon leaving, one of the male friends ordered an Uber, described to be a gray Honda HR-V to take them back to their Airbnb.
Police then viewed some CCTV video from that night, which showed the victim and one of the friends out front of the Miami Beach Old City Hall. The footage also showed the victim, who was wearing dark-colored clothing at the time, getting into a gray Chevrolet Traverse before driving away.
According to the affidavit, the victim told police that her friend had advised that the car she was entering "was not her Uber"; however, her friend then said he had heard the door shut and saw a "Hispanic male" enter the driver's seat and drove off.
The victim was then awakened the next day at the motel by a cleaning lady, who told her that she had passed her time to stay there. According to the affidavit, the victim was naked and had felt pain in her pelvic area and her left knee. She also noticed that $240 was missing from her purse and that she had bruises on her forehead, arms and behind her right knee. The victim then went over to a nearby restaurant, where she requested to speak with police.
Miami Police also spoke with the victim's friend, who confirmed with them that he had warned her that she was getting inside the wrong Uber, the affidavit stated.
Miami Police then watched more CCTV video from a gas station nearby, where they saw the suspect -- later identified as Maurad-Avecillas -- arriving in a gray Chevy Traverse that following morning, with a front passenger wearing dark-colored clothing. Maurad-Avecillas is then seen getting out of the car and wearing a red shirt with black hat, black pants and shoes, from the driver's side and begins pumping his car up with gas before leaving the gas station.
Other CCTV video then showed Maurad-Avecillas back up his car into a parking spot at the motel with the same front-seat passenger -- identified as the victim -- before presenting the motel attendant with a credit card. However, the attendant told him that he needed an ID to process the card, so Maurad-Avecillas is seen returning to the car and "rummage through it" before returning to the attendant with the victim's ID. The motel attendant then charged the credit card she was given for Maurad-Avecillas and the victim to have a room for six hours.
According to the affidavit, the motel attendant then watched Maurad-Avecillas take the victim out of the car and escort her to the room. The motel attendant told police that the victim appeared to be "intoxicated" and had to assist her and Maurad-Avecillas to their room. CCTV video later shows Maurad-Avecillas approaching the victim to grab her ID again to present to the motel attendant, but she refused, telling him that the victim can retrieve it "once she leaves." Shortly after, the gray Chevy is seen leaving the motel.
Miami Police were then able to confirm that the victim was the front-seat passenger after comparing her ID with what was seen on CCTV video and after interviewing the motel attendant.
According to the affidavit, the victim went through her bank account transactions and noticed a charge at the gas station where Maurad-Avecillas was seen earlier, which police were able to confirm by comparing time stamps between her bank transactions and CCTV video.
After running a records check on the Chevy to confirm that the car belonged to Maurad-Avecillas, police found him at his Miami-Dade residence and arrested him.
On Sunday afternoon, Uber provided a statement to CBS News Miami, confirming that Maurad-Avecillas is a driver of theirs but he wasn't online with the company at the time of the incident.
"There are no words to describe this sickening behavior," an Uber spokesperson stated. "We removed the driver's access as soon as this was reported to us and are supporting law enforcement with their investigation."
Miami Police is urging anyone with information regarding the situation or who may have been a victim of a similar crime to come forward and assist with their investigation by calling the Special Victims Unit at (305) 603-6300 or (305) 579-6111, or by email at svu@miami-police.org.
Uber also encourages its riders to read their safety tips at uber.com.