A woman reported that she woke up naked, drugged and beaten in a motel on 8th Street after getting into an Uber car that she thought was the one she had ordered.
The incident occurred last January, when the victim, a California resident, was on vacation in Miami.
The woman notified police when she woke up at the 77 Motel, located at 3021 SW 8th St, without knowing how she got there. Her last memory was taking an Uber car in South Beach after the driver told her that he was the one she was waiting for.
This week, the Miami Police Department arrested Danny Estalin Maurad-Avecillas, 49 years old and appeared before the Criminal Court.
"He made me think that was my Uber. He told me, get in the car, get in the car... it looked exactly like the car I was waiting for," the complainant said.
The woman said that when she woke up in the motel she had bruises all over her body, and that now she even needs knee surgery.
"I have injuries on my body. I don't know what they did to me, but I have bruises and right now I have injuries on my knee. The injuries I have, there is no way, if I wasn't drugged, I would have been able to tolerate the pain," he stressed.
The arrest report, to which he had access Local 10, Maurad used his ID and card to rent the room, robbed the victim of about $250 in cash, and used his card to fill the gas tank.
The Police spoke with a motel reception employee who remembered that when the woman got out of the vehicle she seemed intoxicated and that the driver had to help her walk.
The victim also said that the result of the rape exam came out inconclusive since it was not done correctly and they would have to repeat it, reported Telemundo 51.
Miami Police suspect that Maurad "attacks women late at night waiting for their rideshare, luring them, intoxicating them, robbing them and possibly sexually assaulting them."
The man currently faces two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of fraudulent possession of identification.
In court, Judge Mindy Glazer agreed with the Prosecutor's Office to also accuse him of kidnapping while it is known if there was also a rape.
"I agree... It seems that she did not agree to be taken to this place, so I do believe it would be a kidnapping," he noted.
The defendant is in the Metrowest Detention Center in Doral, without the right to bail.
On the other hand, the Uber spokesperson expressed that, "There are no words to describe the disgusting behavior. We have removed the driver's access to the application as soon as we learned what happened and are assisting authorities in their investigation."
Authorities ask other women who have been victims of a similar crime to call 305-603-6300, or 305-579-6111, or by email at svu@miami-police.org, or with county Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade by calling 305-471-8477.
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