Woman Shoots Uber Driver in the Head after Ride from El Paso Casino
What typically turned out to be a typical driving service for Uber chauffeur Daniel Piedra Garcia in El Paso, Texas, almost ended deadly. A client called for an Uber to be driven to a nearby casino before pulling out a weapon and shooting Garcia in the head without motive for a preposterous reason.
As the subsequent police investigation demonstrated, 48-year-old Phoebe Copas was intending to meet her significant other at the Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso. She happened to be in town and felt touring the facility would be a terrific approach for them to spend the day jointly.
Copas arranged the trip around 2 p.m. and embarked on the short journey to the venue. While en route, she spotted a sign in Piedra's vehicle that said Juárez, Mexico. This seemingly harmless sign set off kidnapping alerts in her mind, resulting in calamity.
Kidnapping Nightmares Haunting Her Thoughts
Mexico has been picked on in recent news for multiple abduction and human trafficking cases. The country's hosting of the 2026 World Cup has shed light on the dilemma.
Possibly influenced by all the media focus, Copas thought the sign indicated that the 52-year-old Piedra was going to abduct her and transport her across the frontier. She then retrieved a handgun from her purse and shot him in the head. Piedra consequently lost control of the automobile and wrecked.
Copas' initial response was not to request aid. Instead, she took a photograph of the wounded man and transmitted it to her partner. Only after that did she dial emergency services.
The occurrence transpired close to the Bridge of Americas, which links El Paso and Juárez. Law enforcement stated that the location was far from offering immediate access to Mexico, according to court documents.
Copas would likely have been unfamiliar with the region, since she doesn't live in El Paso. Her residence is said to be Tompkinsville, Ky.
Piedra remains hospitalized on life support, where he's in critical condition with skull and wrist injuries. His family set up a GoFundMe page to amass money for the costs that will then arise. At the time of publication, it reached $10,886 of its $30K goal.
The authorities detained Copas and charged her with aggravated assault, which could be upgraded to manslaughter if Piedra succumbs. She was confined at the El Paso County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
Human Trafficking in Mexico
Juarez, which lies across the border from El Paso, is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The state is listed on the US Department of State's website as a location that tourists should "reconsider" visiting due to the high incidence of crime and abduction.
Human trafficking remains one of the most entrenched criminal activities in Mexico. Just as with the illicit drug trade, it's almost exclusively managed by the cartels.
This past March, Mexican police found an abandoned container on the side of a road in the state of Veracruz. Inside were 343 people, including 103 unaccompanied children, imprisoned with no means of escape.
It's uncertain why the container had been left behind. All of those inside hailed from various Latin American nations.
Last week, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on a criminal gang in Mexicali. The Hernandez Salas faction is alleged to be associated with the Sinaloa cartel and is claimed to be a key player in the region's human trafficking and immigration operations.
The organization's head, identified as Ofelia Hernández Salas, is currently imprisoned in Mexico and is awaiting extradition to the US.
Frequently, the cartels enlist US residents into helping them with their illegal immigration ventures. They are coerced into functioning as intermediaries to facilitate the processing of documents or might have their IDs seized to be utilized by the gangs. They are also often held for ransom.
Crisis24, a security agency comprising ex-CIA officers and soldiers, advises that all tourists steer clear of border towns. A recent Kidnapping Security Assessment Rating Map issued by them shows that the entire border region carries an "extreme" possibility that visitors will be taken captive.
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Source: www.casino.org
