An Uber driver was arrested yesterday for allegedly kidnapping a Los Angeles woman after she woke up in a motel room with no recollection of how she got there following a night of drinking.
ABC Los Angeles reports that the 26-year-old woman called 911 on Monday morning after waking up in a Panorama City motel room along with an unfamiliar shirtless man. Police told ABC Los Angeles that the woman had gone out drinking in West Los Angeles the night before, presumably calling Uber to arrange a safe ride home.
When officers arrived at the Panorama Motel, they found 32-year-old Frederick Dencer of Encino. Though the LAPD says surveillance footage shows Dencer carrying the woman into the room, he provided police with a conflicting account the night's happenings:
Police believe the woman's last stop Sunday night was at the Greystone Manor nightclub in West Hollywood. Police believe Dencer, an Uber driver, was hanging out at the club after another fare and may have been solicited by a nightclub worker to take the drunk victim home, according to the LAPD.
LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon told ABC Los Angeles that he believed Dencer "took advantage of the situation." Furthermore, though police maintained that no sexual assault occurred, they noted that there was some "fondling through [the woman's] clothes."
Dencer was charged with kidnap for the purpose of sexual assault and is being detained on $1 million bail.
UPDATE: In the wake of Dencer's arrest, Uber spokesperson Eva Behrend issued a statement on the matter:
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[via ABC Los Angeles]
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