Ex-Central California Uber driver convicted of raping intoxicated passengers
Alfonso Alarcon Nunez, a former Uber driver.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - A former Uber driver in Central California was found guilty Friday of sexually assaulting and stealing from five passengers.
Jurors took less than three hours to convict Alfonso Alarcon Nunez of 13 felonies, including three charges of rape, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
He could face life in prison when he is sentenced in April.
Nunez, 39, of Santa Maria, was accused of sexually assaulting or stealing from intoxicated women who had ordered rides or whom he had picked up in 2017 and 2018 in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Prosecutors said Nunez would drive the women to their homes, follow them inside, sexually assault them, steal their wallets, cellphones and jewelry, and in some cases would debit their Venmo accounts for the fares to conceal his Uber connection.
Nunez is at least the third rideshare driver convicted of sexually assaulting passengers in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Former Uber driver Shadi Abdul Aziz of Santa Maria pleaded guilty to raping an intoxicated person in 2019 and was sentenced to nearly a year in jail.
In January 2020, Jason Fenwick, a former Lyft driver, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a customer in Nipomo.