According to federal officials, a man and a woman repeatedly stomped and kicked the body of an unconscious Uber driver. An Uber driver was beaten and carjacked in Houston last autumn by a Texas couple, who have now admitted their crime.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas, Frank Lewis Blanco, 28, and Destinee Guerrero, 25, hired an Uber at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 and kept changing their destination, forcing the driver to drive them around Houston for about 30 minutes.
Driver Was Beaten Unless He Was Unconscious
When the pair refused to exit the vehicle after being ordered to do so, the Uber driver pulled up to a petrol station and requested that the attendant call the police.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed that Blanco and Guerrero beat the driver senseless, brutally kicked and stomped his body, and then took his automobile.
According to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, “This couple senselessly beat an Uber driver unconscious for doing nothing more than trying to give them a ride.” “I can’t imagine the horror and fear my late father, a cab driver, would have felt in that same circumstance.”After brutally kicking and stomping his body, they stole his automobile.
The Assault Was Caught On Camera By The Petrol Station’s Security System
Couple From Texas Admits To Carjacking And Assaults An Uber Driver
“This couple senselessly beat an Uber driver unconscious for doing nothing more than trying to give them a ride,” claimed Hamdani. As a result of today’s plea, taxi and ride-sharing drivers may rest easy knowing that these two aggressive passengers will be removed from the streets.
“Violent criminals thought they could breach the law again and escape punishment. In this instance, they stole a vehicle from an Uber driver and viciously attacked him. But the federal system’s tenacious pursuit of justice caught up with them and put an end to their illicit activity, according to Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston Field Office. “We are unyielding, just like these criminals.”
The guilty pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who set the sentencing date for September 21. Blanco and Guerrero could be sentenced to 15 years in jail and/or fined up to $250,000 in total.
After Blanco and Guerrero entered their plea today, the judge committed them to detention, where they will stay until their sentencing. They had previously been granted bail release.
The Houston Police Department assisted the FBI Houston Field Office in conducting the investigation. Stuart Tallichet, an assistant US attorney, is in charge of the prosecution.
Following their Friday plea, Blanco and Guerrero were taken into jail by the court. They were previously free on bond, but they will now be detained until the end of the sentencing process.
