Two Florida men are accused of teaming up to kidnap and rape women coming home from bars while pretending to be Uber drivers, police said.
Danny Estalin Maurad-Avecillas, 49, and Yadir Gongora, 40 have been hit with various charges, including sexual battery and kidnapping, after police allege that the duo had been working together to assault women, as reported by WSVN.
Maurad-Avecillas was initially arrested in February for a Jan. 12 incident. The alleged victim testified in court Feb. 23 that Maurad-Avecillas made her "believe that that was my Uber and said, 'Get in the car, get in the car,'" WSVN reported.
Detectives said the woman woke up raped and alone hours later in a strange hotel room. Since her story, two more women have since spoken up with similar stories, as reported by WPLG.
The new cases reportedly tie Maurad-Avecillas to Gongora, who was arrested in October 2023. Police said that Gongora allegedly picked up two women by pretending to be an Uber driver, and sexually battered one and robbed the other, as reported by NBC Miami. He was sentenced to two years probation and withheld adjudication after pleading guilty to robbery charges in April.
Gongora was arrested once again in August after police accused him of raping two women. In each incident on Aug. 20, 2023, and Sept. 29, 2023, police said that Gongora reportedly posed as a rideshare driver to pick up the women from bars.
On the days of these two incidents, Maurad-Avecillas and Gongora allegedly called each other multiple times, according to arrest reports obtained by WPLG.
Police believe that Maurad-Avecillas was driving while Gongora raped a 22-year-old woman in the backseat of the vehicle on Aug. 20 after the victim identified Maurad-Avecillas as the driver in a lineup, as reported by NBC Miami.
Gongora reportedly told detectives that the messages with Maurad-Avecillas were "to get notifications of events." He allegedly told police that he claimed to "not know his name" but said he "recognized him from the news," according to arrest reports obtained by WPLG.
Both Maurad-Avecillas and Gongora have been booked into Miami-Dade's Metrowest Detention Center without bond.
Originally published on Latin Times.
