ICE Levies Retainer Against Cuban Lyft Driver Charged with Sodomizing Woman

A Lyft driver accused of sexually assaulting his female passenger during a rideshare to a doctor’s appointment is now apparently being sought by U.S. Immigration officials for deportation as an illegal alien.

Yordan Diaz Vera, 34, of Louisville, is charged with first-degree sodomy, menacing, and kidnapping, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), Fox News Digital reported from police records it obtained.

Also, federal authorities believe he is subject to removal, based on police records indicating he has been made the subject of a U.S. immigration detainer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the outlet.

Fox, however, couched its report by also adding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately confirm Vera’s immigrant status.

The alleged assault occurred in early February, with the victim, a mother of four, telling authorities she had summoned Lyft to take her from her Louisville home to a chiropractor’s appointment.

After picking the woman up, according to police, Diaz Vera allegedly produced a gun from the car’s glove compartment, pulled over into a church parking lot, and joined her in the back seat.

When she tried to escape, she found the door locked and was forced into sexual acts, authorities said.

Her chiropractor called the police for her when he dropped her off at his office, according to her attorney.

The incident occurred on February 4. Vera was arrested the next day in a supermarket parking lot.

Vera has pleaded not guilty and is being held at Metro Corrections on a $100,000 cash bond as well as the immigration detainer, WDRB recently reported, with the case expected to go to a grand jury in March.

The victim’s attorney also told WLKY, another Louisville TV news outlet, that Vera is from Cuba and came to the U.S. illegally in 2022. But he also said the driver had a work permit and was waiting on a hearing to gain legal status at the time of his arrest.

If he was indeed in the country illegally, his ability to obtain the necessary documentation to drive for the rideshare service remains unclear.

Lyft reportedly requires drivers to meet certain requirements, including having insurance, a driver’s license, and a valid Social Security number.

“The behavior described is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or society,” a company spokesperson told the news outlets in a statement. “We have permanently removed the driver from the Lyft platform and are assisting law enforcement with their investigation.”

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime bestseller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.