OAKLAND — Police are investigating a woman’s claims that she accidentally got into the wrong car after mistaking it for her Uber ride, then ending up being forced into prostitution.
The woman told police that on March 3, she got into a 56-year-old Oakland man’s car, believing it to be her rideshare driver. Instead, the man pointed a gun at her, drove her to Modesto, placed prostitution ads advertising her services online, and bought her a see-through mesh dress, she told police.
The woman escaped two days later, after the man allegedly drove her to a high prostitution area in Oakland and told her she needed to “earn” several hundred dollars, authorities said. Instead, she secretly called police and relayed the story.
During the two-day ordeal, the woman reportedly tried to text an “SOS” message to a food delivery service, but never heard back after the attempt to raise the alarm, authorities said.
Police searched the man’s car and found a pistol in the center console. Prosecutors charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm — citing four prior felony convictions from 1996-98 — but have not charged him related to the alleged human trafficking allegations.
The man was released on his own recognizance by a judge, and is due to appear in court for an arraignment on Tuesday, records show.
The man was allegedly planning to bring the woman to Salinas next, authorities said.