A Lyft ride descended into violence and fear in Orange County when the driver allegedly drew a handgun on his passengers after they exited his car, due to his erratic driving last Saturday evening, informed the Orlando Police Department. A report by ClickOrlando indicated that the driver, identified as 30-year-old Joshua Ortega, was operating the vehicle under a woman's account and exhibited signs of impairment, such as speeding and driving the wrong way, prompting the passengers' decision to flee.
Finding themselves at Airport Liquor on TG Lee Boulevard off Semoran Boulevard in Orlando, the passengers refused to pay for the ride, which never reached its intended endpoint, and entered the store to contact authorities. As recounted by store clerk Jedidiah Torres in an interview with WFTV, the driver followed them in, exhibiting aggressive behavior that escalated to pulling out a gun and threatening to kill those present.
The encounter ended with Torres managing to lock out Ortega after a brief struggle, moments that clicked by with terror-tinged sluggishness. As Torres told WFTV, "It was a scary situation." Police later apprehended Ortega at a Walmart down the road, discovering a Taurus G3C 9mm handgun under the driver’s seat of his vehicle. He currently faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on no bond until his pretrial hearing, as per the authorities' report.
