An Uber driver was arrested Sunday for allegedly kidnapping a 15-year-old girl in Golden over the weekend, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said.
Just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, 29-year-old Ahmed Muse picked up a 15-year-old girl at her work in the 100 block of Rubey Drive in Golden. As a minor, the teen had a coworker arrange the Uber ride home that took her about 10 miles to the south, the sheriff's office said.
The coworker used uberPOOL, which lets you ride with others in an Uber to save time, according to deputies, and Uber said that riders are dropped off based on how close they are to the vehicle - not when they got in the car.
According to law enforcement, the teen had to sit up front because Muse already had a POOL passenger in the back. While her drop-off location was supposed to be first on the list, Muse reportedly skipped her destination and claimed the app wasn't working right on his phone, deputies said.
Knowing that she was nearly home, the girl offered Muse $10 to just let her out so she could walk, authorities said. She didn't want to ride to Interstate 76 and Pecos - the other passenger's destination - only to come back to Golden later.
Muse wouldn't stop, deputies said, adding that passengers were to be dropped off in the order they were picked up (something Uber has affirmed is not true). After dropping off the other passenger, Muse drove the girl to her neighborhood and stopped where he asked her to, but couldn't leave the vehicle since he'd locked the doors, the sheriff's office said.
According to deputies, Muse then forced himself on the girl and kissed her before letting her out of his vehicle.
Muse was able to be identified through the Uber app and was arrested Sunday on charges of second-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment and harassment, deputies said.
The other passenger in the Uber corroborated the teen's version of events regarding the strange way Muse said passengers needed to be dropped off. The investigation is ongoing and deputies are working to let Uber know what happened.
The sheriff's office would like to pass on the advice that all lone riders in ride-shares or taxi share the name of the driver and the license plate number of the vehicle they are riding in with others. Uber even offers an option to share your ride information with up to five friends and family members.
