A man allegedly kidnapped an Arlington rideshare driver and forced them to drive 1,300 miles to Miami, Florida.
On August 16, 23-year-old Miguel Pastran Hernandez ordered a ride from an unnamed rideshare application just before 10:30 p.m. on Friday, according to WFAA.
The driver, who authorities have yet to identify, transported Hernandez to his requested drop-off location, a closed gas station. Once they arrived, Hernandez purportedly pulled a gun on the driver.
Hernandez reportedly threatened to tie the driver up and put the driver in the back of the vehicle. The driver begged for their life, offering Hernandez any possessions in the vehicle. Hernandez then allegedly ordered the victim to drive to Florida.
The next morning, as the pair drove through Louisiana, Hernandez ordered the driver to call their children and pretend to be on a business trip.
Hernandez and the driver arrived in Florida on Saturday evening. Hernandez then ordered the driver to drive to Miami Beach, where he allegedly “surveilled an additional potential victim.” He told the driver he planned to kidnap that victim and hold them for a $3 million ransom, according to court documents, per WFAA.
On Monday, Hernandez made the driver take him to a Dollar General to purchase supplies for the second kidnapping.
The driver called the police and hid in the bathroom as Hernandez shopped. Once authorities arrived at the Dollar General, Hernandez reportedly took the car keys and fled on foot.
Three hours later, police located Hernandez in Hollywood, Florida, where he then attempted to run away again.
Officials found a loaded 9mm handgun in Hernandez’s cross-body bag, which the victim identified as a gun that the kidnapper had stolen from the driver’s car, according to the affidavit obtained by WFAA.
Hernandez faced a Miami federal judge on Tuesday and reportedly admitted to kidnapping the rideshare driver at gunpoint and stealing the driver’s gun. He faces charges of kidnapping, carjacking, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime or violence.
A pre-trial detention hearing is scheduled for August 26, and an arraignment hearing is scheduled for September 3.
It is still unknown exactly where in Arlington the incident began. Arlington police told WFAA that the department had not received any recent kidnapping reports.
In Dallas, there have been 127 kidnappings reported this year as of August 20, a substantial increase over the 110 offenses logged during the same period in 2023, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has been dealing with a serious staffing shortage for years. Only around 3,000 officers are currently in the field, despite a prior City analysis advising that a force of roughly 4,000 is needed to police a city the size of Dallas properly.