Orinda police tracked an Uber driver who allegedly robbed a Walnut Creek woman of her purse and abandoned her at Orinda Fields last month – arresting the driver Friday in San Francisco.
Police have not yet released the suspect’s name. Investigators said he was off-duty when he was flagged down by the victim after she left a party in San Francisco early the morning of July 30 and agreed to drive her home to Walnut Creek. Investigators said the driver instead stopped at Orinda Fields Lane and Wilder Road in Orinda at 2:49 a.m. that morning, instructed the woman to get out of the car and drove away with her purse.
Orinda Police Chief Mark Nagel said the driver was clocked out from doing Uber rides at the time of the theft. There was no money exchanged for the ride, Nagel said.
The victim told officers she lost her credit cards and driver’s license among other personal items.
Nagel credited “good work” by OPD detectives with tracking down the driver and with making the arrest.
Glad she wasn’t physically hurt. This was in a uber marked car though?
Anyone who steals a driver’s license should be sentenced to hard labor. Replacing a lost or stolen driver’s license is THE worst. You have to go to DMV to replace it and the wait time for an appointment is more than a month. Oh, and the appointment time isn’t necessarily the time you’ll be seen. They run on doctor time.
@Tom – Noted. We had our DL scanned and tattooed onto our forearm. We don’t do lines…
Funny who we trust and allow into our lives these days.
Maybe I’ll try Uber one day. Late at night under the influence. By myself… when he’s off duty, and no money is exchanged. Why should anyone expect to get paid – or expect things to go wrong if he isn’t?
Good job Orinda PD.
I will not take Uber!
I’d rather give my business to licensed taxi cab drivers who have to pay a lot more in insurance and licensing and bonding and background checks.. I feel that they’ve been hurt buy these rideshares. It’s hard for them to support themselves and their families. Uber’s in the news every week for horrible things.