Patrol stops a ‘looter,’ but he’s just Uber driver
Two community watchmen, trying to thwart looters after Hurricane Irma, snared a man at gunpoint — but he turned out to be a food delivery driver.
And after firing a warning shot and calling 911, they discovered the man they thought was a burglar was simply lost, deputies say.
The trouble began about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 15 after Roberto Augustin, an Uber Eats driver, had just made a delivery in a neighborhood just west of Military Trail and south of Atlantic Avenue in West Delray, a community he was unfamiliar with.
Augustin, 32, told deputies he was trying to find his way out of the neighborhood when two men, later identified as Dustyn Jenkins, 36, and
Micah Mercer, 41, both of West Delray, confronted him — and held him until deputies arrived.
“Get out of the car or I am going to kill you,” the men told Augustin with their guns drawn, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office arrest report.
At one point, the report said, Jenkins fired a “warning shot” into the air.
Augustin stepped out of his car with his hands up, thinking the two men were about to rob him, he told a deputy.
However, Mercer told deputies he and Jenkins came up to Augustin and asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood. He said Augustin got upset and charged at them, causing the two men to pull out their guns and aim at Augustin.
Fort Lauderdale-based attorney A.J. Amoroso is representing Jenkins and said the situation is a “colossal misunderstanding.”
Amoroso on Friday said the neighborhood had been without power for a week and generators had been stolen, so the neighborhood put a watch group together.
“PBSO knew that the neighborhood was conducting these watches,” Amoroso said. “It was a stressful situation. Unfortunately my client got arrested.”
Amoroso said that Jenkins simply asked Augustin who he was and what he was doing in the area and that Augustin made a movement that looked like he could have had a weapon. The two men held Augustin at gunpoint until deputies arrived, Amoroso said.
He believes Jenkins and Mercer had concealed carry permits.
Uber Eats is a food delivery service offered by the ride-hailing company. An Uber spokesman says they’ll be working with law enforcement to provide any information needed.
“We’ve reached out to Mr. Augustin and are grateful he is OK after what must have been a frightening experience,” the spokesman said.
Mercer and Jenkins were booked and released from Palm Beach County Jail. Both face aggravated assault charges, and Jenkins faces an additional charge of discharging a firearm in public.