ARLINGTON, Texas — Federal prosecutors accuse a man of kidnapping a North Texas rideshare driver by forcing them at gunpoint to drive more than 1,300 miles to Miami, Florida.
A probable cause affidavit says the incident started at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, when Miguel Alejandro Pastran Hernandez hailed a ride in Arlington using Lyft.
Court records indicate the rideshare driver picked up Pastran Hernandez and drove to the designated drop-off point, a gas station that appeared closed. There, the FBI alleges Pastran Hernandez produced and chambered a gun.
Authorities say the driver offered Pastran Hernandez any possession in the car, but the 23-year-old threatened to tie the driver up and put them in the back of the vehicle. The victim pleaded to drive and Pastran Hernandez obliged, ordering them to start for Florida and maintain the speed limit, the affidavit says.
Court records indicate the driver had an unloaded 9mm handgun and separately-stored ammunition in the car, but Pastran Hernandez found the weapon and kept it.
After nearly 12 hours together, Pastran Hernandez allegedly ordered the driver to call his or her children and tell them he or she was on a "long work trip so the children would not be suspicious of the victim's absence," the affidavit says. The two were in Louisiana at this time, around 11 a.m. on Aug. 17.
The pair arrived in the Miami Beach area on Aug. 18. There, Pastran Hernandez ordered the driver to take him to surveil a potential second victim. The 23-year-old allegedly said he intended to kidnap the person and hold that person for a $3 million ransom.
Court documents say on Monday, Aug. 19, Pastran Hernandez ordered the driver to take him to a Dollar General store in Hialeah, Florida to buy supplies for the second kidnapping. The driver hid in the bathroom of the store until police arrived.
It's not clear whether the driver contacted police themselves or if they alerted store clerks. Pastran Hernandez ran away, but authorities caught him in Hollywood, Florida three hours later.
Pastran admitted to kidnapping the rideshare driver at gunpoint during an interview with law enforcement, the affidavit says.
Court documents did not identify the rideshare driver.
In a statement, a Lyft spokesperson called the incident described in the affidavit "deeply troubling."
"We have reached out to the driver to offer our support, permanently banned the rider’s account from the Lyft platform, and are assisting law enforcement with their investigation," the spokesperson said.
Arlington police officials said Wednesday their investigators were not aware of any incidents similar to the reported kidnapping.
Pastran Hernandez is in federal prison in Miami, charged with kidnapping, carjacking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
It is not clear where Pastran Hernandez lives or what connection, if any, the 23-year-old has to Arlington.
Quentin Brogdon, a Dallas attorney who handles cases involving rideshare companies but is not involved in Pastran Hernandez's case, said he's not seen an affidavit like this one.
"You can't begin to imagine the fear, the total terror, in this rideshare driver's mind," Brogdon said.
"Unfortunately, I was not surprised," he continued. "It's another in a pattern of crimes committed either by Uber or Lyft drivers, or against Uber and Lyft drivers."
He argues rideshare companies have the resources to better protect drivers and passengers. He noted that most rideshare services do not use fingerprinting to ensure drivers are who they claim to be on official documents submitted to those companies.
"We were all taught not to hitchhike," he said. "We were taught that since we were children, but that's exactly what we're doing as a passenger when we get into an Uber or Lyft."
Pastran Hernandez appeared before a federal judge in Florida after his arrest Monday. A public defender representing him did not respond to WFAA's request for more information.