A woman Shot an Uber Drive, Mistakenly!
Police say a Kentucky woman mistakenly thought she was being kidnapped and taken to Mexico when she fatally shot her West Texas Uber driver.
After being accused of murdering Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, last week, Phoebe Copas, 48, remained behind bars on Sunday in El Paso, Texas.
According to a statement from the El Paso Police Department, Copas is accused of shooting Garcia on U.S. Route 54 on June 16 as he was taking her to a location in Mission Valley.
Copas shot Piedra because she believed she was being taken into Mexico at some point during the journey. According to the statement, “the investigation does not support that Piedra was travelling away from Copas’ destination or that a kidnapping occurred.
Copas was detained and initially accused of second-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Piedra was in the hospital for a few days before his family decided to remove the life support system because the doctors had informed them he would not survive.
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Police announced that they would charge Copas with murder after Piedra passed away.
There was no attorney listed in court or jail records who could speak for Copas. According to The Associated Press, she is being held under a $1.5 million bond.
Copas, who is from Tompkinsville, Kentucky, was visiting her boyfriend at the time of the shooting, according to the authorities.
According to an arrest affidavit, Copas noticed traffic signs reading “Juarez, Mexico” while driving. El Paso is situated across from Juarez on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Copas is accused of taking a handgun from her purse and shooting Piedra in the head because she thought she was being kidnapped and taken to Mexico. Before coming to a stop on a motorway, the car hit barriers.
The area where the car wrecked was “not in close proximity of a bridge, port of entry or other area with immediate access to travel into Mexico,” the affidavit states.
Police claim that Copas took a picture of Piedra following the shooting and texted it to her boyfriend before dialling 911.
Didi Lopez, Piedra’s niece, told the El Paso Times that Piedra “was a hardworking man and really funny.” He never had a bad mood, either. He was always the one who would approach you and try to cheer you up if he noticed you in a bad mood.
Piedra’s family claimed in a GoFundMe campaign that he was their only source of income and had only recently started working again after suffering an injury at his previous job.
She not only ruined our lives, but she also ruined her life, Lopez said.
“I wish she would’ve spoken up, asked questions, and not acted on impulse and make a reckless decision,” Lopez said. “We only want him to receive justice. That is all we are requesting.
