Lyft driver shot at, assaulted; 2 arrested

2022-05-28 09:33:56 By : Mr. Frank Yang

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Two men were arrested for allegedly assaulting and robbing a part-time Lyft driver.

Anthony James Santana, 37, and Jose Rodolfo Gomez, 28, were served with warrants on April 26 charging them with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. Santana was additionally charged with having a prohibited substance at a correctional facility.

At about 3:07 a.m. April 26, police received a call from the Laredo Medical Center regarding a man who had been assaulted and his vehicle was shot at, authorities said. He was uncooperative but did mention he was the victim of a robbery and a shooting.

Moments later at 3:11 a.m., police received a call from the 6300 block of Creosote Loop about an argument and one gunshot. The caller for the incident on Creosote was identified as Gomez. He stated he heard a fight and a gunshot outside. He refused consent to search the residence. But officers did find a shoe, a cellphone, a casing and a necklace pendant outside of the residence.

When police spoke to the complainant, he had blood on the right side of his face and a visible bump that was possibly caused by a pistol-whip. He was also complaining of pain to his jaw and hands. He also had scratches and redness to his back and arms. Police noticed the complainant had a bloody shirt, pants and was wearing only one shoe. The vehicle had a bullet hole on the driver side door, according to police.

He stated he had gone to an after-party with a male he had recently met. This male was later identified as Gomez. They arrived at Santana’s house, where Gomez and Santana began to assault him. The complainant was treated at LMC and then taken to LPD headquarters for questioning.

“(The complainant) was initially vague on the details and then changed and added details as he retold what had occurred,” states the affidavit.

He explained he was a part-time Lyft driver and that was how he met Gomez. Santana and Gomez had taken down his number to use as a driver outside of the Lyft app.

Santana began attacking him and threatening him with a gun. Gomez was armed with a knife or machete. The complainant stated he was partially in the backseat and began to fight back. He managed to get away from Gomez and Santana before he heard two to three gunshots. The complainant arrived at LMC, where police was called. He stated that $2,000, a machete and a hatchet were stolen.

After officers dropped off Santana at the Webb County Jail, correctional officers called officers back because they discovered supposed narcotics on Santana. A correctional officer stated that while conducting a search on Santana, he was found to have a red and white lighter.

The correctional officer then searched Santana for further contraband and some was found inside of his body.

Authorities seized nine oval white pills with “B704” marked on them, eight white circle pills with “M” marked on them and a combination of both pills crushed. The contraband weighed 4 grams.

César G. Rodriguez is a reporter for the Laredo Morning Times.