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Stockton Uber Driver Robbed At Gunpoint

STOCKTON (CBS13) — Stockton police are trying to track down three men who robbed an Uber driver at gunpoint on Wednesday.

It happened just before 11 p.m. in a residential area near Pixie and Ryde Avenue in Stockton. But what make this case unique, is the Uber driver believes he was set up.

The driver says he picked up four customers from a bar on Pacific Avenue. Everything went well, he explained, until one of the passengers called him to come back after he dropped them off. They said they had left a cellphone in the car.

After returning the cellphone and trying to get back to his car, the driver says that is when three men approached his car.

"All of a sudden, I see one guy over here, two guys pulled around to the other side, and then I see this [gun pointed at my face]," said the driver, who did not want to be identified, for fear of retaliation.

What happened next, the driver says, had him fearing for his life.

He says the gunman then yelled, "Stop the car! Get out of the car! Unlock the doors, or we are going to shoot you right here!"

"I tried to cover up. I leaned to the side. They banged me in the back of my head. Then I lifted up, and I got a right-hand right to my eye," said the driver.

The driver believes the whole thing was a set-up.

"The cellphone in the back seat, they go in the house, then I get another call, and then all of a sudden three guys show up out of nowhere. That just doesn't fit in a normal night at 11 o'clock," the driver said.

He also says it was odd that no one in the neighborhood called police as he was being beaten up outside.

Officer Joe Silva with the Stockton Police Department says it's still early into their investigation, so they can't comment on if this was a set-up or not, but adds, "this is a very high crime neighborhood where this happened."

But because the suspects attacked the driver at gun point, Officer Silva says there is a greater concern in trying to find these men.

"He was struck with a handgun. Obviously, that is concerning to us. So, that's why we need to get these suspects off the streets because obviously, this situation could have gotten a lot worse for this Uber driver," said Officer Silva.

Police say the suspects are all African-American men in their 20s. They got away on foot after the attack.

The Uber driver, who lives in Stockton and who supports his 11-year-old daughter, says the armed men took his phone, wallet and total of just $13 dollars in cash. He told CBS13 that he won't be driving for Uber anymore saying, it's not worth risking his life. But he still demands justice.

"They took my livelihood way. There has to be some repercussions," he said.

A representative with Uber says they spoke to the driver and are working with Stockton police in this investigation. Police say they have no leads in this case.

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