Lyft Passenger Charged with Carjacking, Assaulting, Robbing Driver
GARDEN GROVE – The Orange County District attorney announced a pending future for a “Lyft” passenger who turned his ride into a living nightmare.
Luis Alberto Zaragoza (27) of Garden Grove faces a 14 year and 4 month maximum sentence in state prison for multiple crimes against his Lyft driver.
It started out innocently enough. The app’s driver arrived at a Garden Grove bar during the wee hours on March 10. Around 2:00 A.M. Zaragoza instructed the driver to stop at a McDonald’s drive-through.
Then it got ugly. According to the DA, “The defendant is accused of yelling obscenities at the driver. (He) assaulted the victim by punching and kicking him in the head. (Finally he drug) the victim out of the vehicle before fleeing the scene.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Paul Chrisopoulos, Special Prosecutions Unit, is the Prosecutor. The charges are carjacking, first-degree robbery, and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. Moreover, sentencing enhancements include great bodily injury.
Garden Grove Police Department investigated the case and arrested Zaragoza on June 11, 2018. Finally, the hearing will take place on June 21, 2018 at 8:30 a.m.
