The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ALLEGED ASSAULTS BY UBER AND LYFT DRIVERS

- COMPILED FROM AJC REPORTS

Here are recent incidents involving ride-share drivers in metro Atlanta that were covered in news reports. Because no agency compiles crimes involving ride-share companies, there may be additional incidents not included here.

Sept. 10, 2016: A woman told Atlanta police that an Uber driver picked her up from a Buckhead bar and sexually assaulted her. The woman told police she was with a group of friends at the Park Bench bar when she decided to call an Uber for a ride home. Instead of taking her home, the driver allegedly drove her to Chastain Park.

Dec. 10, 2016: Jerome Antonio Booze picked up a Smyrna woman from a northeast Atlanta bar after she requested a Lyft driver. Police say he instead drove her to a parking lot and sexually assaulted her. A Lyft spokesman said the company was devastated and banned Booze from using the Lyft app. Booze is currently free on bond and is awaiting trial, Cobb County court records show.

Jan. 30, 2017: A pregnant woman told police her Uber driver kicked her in the stomach before taking off. Myra Graham, 46, of College Park, was arrested on an aggravated assault charge, according to a Fulton County police report. She pleaded guilty and was granted first-offender status and her sentence was the time she served in the Fulton jail, court records showed.

Dec. 11, 2017: Abdoulie Jagne, 58, of College Park, allegedly raped a 16-yearold girl while working as an Uber driver. Uber officials said Jagne had been with the company for a couple of months and released a statement: “What’s reported here is horrifying beyond words. Our thoughts are with the rider and her family during this time. This driver has

been permanentl­y removed from the app.”Jagne was being held without bond Wednesday at the Gwinnett County jail. Feb. 17: Robert Bivines had been with the Uber Eats delivery company for only a week when Atlanta police say he shot and killed 30-year-old Ryan Thornton. Bivines, 36, was charged with murder and aggravated assault. Police said he and Thornton got into an altercatio­n outside the man’s Buckhead condominiu­m before the shooting. An attorney for Bivines claimed he acted in self-defense.

March 25: An Uber Eats drive allegedly raped a disabled man. Todd Barron, 54, fled to California after the rape, but was caught when authoritie­s discovered he booked a flight back to Atlanta, according to police. Barron was at No Mas! Cantina on Walker Street picking up a delivery order, when he followed the 21-yearold victim to a bathroom and allegedly sodomized him.

April 20: A University of Georgia student got into a minivan outside of an Athens club thinking it was the Uber driver she requested. Emerson Redd, 53, let the woman go, police said. But an hour later, he allegedly picked up another UGA student and raped her, according to police.

April 22: An Uber Eats driver allegedly assaulted a 63-year-old parking attendant in downtown Atlanta. Traemond Jones, 24, was mad because he couldn’t park for free at the SP Plus parking garage across from the Westin Hotel on Peachtree Street, police said.

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