Lyft driver assaults, attempts to rob pregnant rider: affidavit

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Ernest Pineda (Texas DPS)

AUSTIN, Texas - A Lyft driver is now facing a felony charge after court paperwork says he tried to rob a pregnant rider at a downtown Austin café.

56-year-old Ernest Pineda has been charged with second-degree robbery by assault.

What we know:

Court paperwork outlined the events of April 15 at the Capitol Cafe on San Jacinto Boulevard near the UT Austin campus.

An Austin police officer responded to the café just after 12:30 p.m. to a report of a woman who had been assaulted by her Lyft driver.

The woman told the officer she was an employee there and had ordered a Lyft to go home at the end of her shift. She provided a screenshot of her app showing the driver and vehicle details and confirmed that the driver pictured was the person who assaulted her.

The affidavit says the vehicle pictured was registered to Pineda and the driver shown in the app had the first name Ernest.

The woman told police that when the car arrived, she began to walk out in a rush and get in. She had not been paying attention but heard the driver, identified in the affidavit as Pineda, ask twice what her name was, most likely confirming he had the right passenger.

However, she did not hear his question as she was busy attempting to get into the car, leading Pineda to get irate, curse at her and yell at her to get out. 

The woman told him she would report him to Lyft and began getting out of the car, but accidentally spilled her water cup. After she got out, she went back into the café and said she saw Pineda trailing behind her in the windows' reflection.

She said she became afraid and attempted to run into the women's bathroom in the café, noting that Pineda was still behind her. She tried to lock the door, but Pineda allegedly pushed the door open violently, striking her in her stomach, causing her "excruciating pain." The woman was seven months pregnant.

She tried to back into the restroom as far as she could, but he, while still yelling, violently grabbed her wrist and tried to take her phone. The phone fell to the ground and Pineda then grabbed her backpack. The two fought over it briefly before Pineda was able to take it from her and began walking out.

He was able to get about 10 steps away before she yelled at him to give it back and other employees said they would call 911, so he instead threw the bag.

Camera footage from inside the café confirmed her account, showing her going towards the bathroom and Pineda following her aggressively, then holding the backpack briefly before tossing it across the café. An employee also told police she had seen the disturbance as well and watched him holding the backpack before throwing it, says the affidavit.

The bag had a rip near the seam of one of the handles from the fight, says the affidavit.

What's next:

Pineda is no longer in custody after posting a $15,000 bond. He has been ordered to stay 200 yards away from and have no contact with the victim, have no firearms or weapons, and to stay away from the Capitol Cafe.

He does not yet have a court date scheduled as of April 21.