HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A woman driving for Uber in South Florida pulled a gun on one of her passengers, according to police. She was taken into custody on Florida’s Treasure Coast over the weekend, authorities announced Tuesday afternoon.
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Port St. Lucie police arrested Jennifer Benitez, 23, on Saturday in connection with a May 12 incident in Hollywood, where police said she was caught on video brandishing a pistol while ordering her riders to get out of her vehicle.
According to an arrest warrant from the Hollywood Police Department, the victim, riding with a friend that night, told police Benitez was “hostile and rude from the beginning of the ride” from Miami to the victim’s apartment complex in Hollywood.
Police said that as Benitez got to North 29th Avenue and Sheridan Street, the victim informed her that her apartment complex would be on the left. This caused Benitez to become “agitated” and yell, “I know, that’s why I have a GPS,” the warrant states; Benitez then “made an aggressive left turn, causing items inside the vehicle to shift.”
When the victim questioned Benitez’s behavior, Benitez stopped short of the complex, parking at the Tri-Rail station at 2900 Sheridan St., and ordered her passengers to leave the vehicle, police said.
“The victim advised the driver that her friend was putting on her shoes, but the driver continued to demand they get out immediately,” the warrant states. “A verbal dispute ensued, during which the driver became increasingly irate, canceled the Uber ride and pulled a black firearm out of the center console.”
Police said the woman pulled out her cellphone and began recording the incident to “protect herself and her friend from (Benitez) accusing them of things they didn’t do.”
“As the verbal back and forth between the victim and Uber driver continued, the driver pointed the handgun directly at the victim,” the warrant states. “After the Uber driver pointed the gun at the victim, the victim and her friend exited the vehicle and immediately contacted 911.”
Police said the video shows Benitez “repeatedly instructing the victim to exit the vehicle while simultaneously speaking to a 911 dispatcher” and then pointing the gun at the victim.
The warrant states that police were able to get the license plate of Benitez’s Cadillac SRX.
“The victim stated (that) during the incident she was extremely scared and felt Benitez was going to shoot her at any moment,” the warrant states.
Following her arrest Saturday, Benitez was taken to the St. Lucie County jail. Once extradited to Broward County, she’ll be facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.