Phoebe Copas, a Kentucky native, remains behind bars for the shooting death of Daniel Piedra Garcia, an Uber driver who she believed was kidnapping her to Mexico.
According to PBS, Copas, 48, was arrested and charged with murder after she shot Piedra on June 16. The Tompkinsville, Kentucky native was in town visiting her boyfriend in El Paso, Texas, when the tragic incident occurred. Piedra, 52, was driving Copas to a location in southeast El Paso when she began to grow worried about her whereabouts.
According to the complaint affidavit, the 48-year-old panicked when she saw traffic signs that read “Juarez, Mexico” during the ride, which made her believe she was being kidnapped to Mexico.
El Paso is located on the U.S.-Mexico border, just a stone’s throw from Juarez. Out of defense, Copas grabbed a handgun from her purse and shot Piedra in the head as he was driving. The vehicle veered off the highway and crashed into barriers before coming to a full halt on the freeway.
Investigators say there is no evidence to support Copas’ claims of attempted kidnapping.
According to the affidavit, the area where the car crash occurred was “not in close proximity of a bridge, port of entry or other area with immediate access to travel into Mexico.” Officials also added, “The investigation does not support that a kidnapping took place or that Piedra was veering from Copas’ destination.”
After killing Piedra, authorities believe that Copas took a photo of the wounded Uber driver and texted it to her boyfriend before calling the police. Piedra was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support, but he failed to recover from his shooting injuries.
“He was a hardworking man and really funny,” Garcia’s niece, Didi Lopez, told the El Paso Times. “He was never in a bad mood. He was always the one that, if he saw you in a bad mood, he’d come over and try to lift you up.”
Copas is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Initially, she was charged with aggravated assault, but after Garcia died, “the charge was upgraded to murder,” PBS noted. A GoFundMe campaign has been created by Piedra’s family to help with funeral expenses and hospital fees.
According to the campaign, Piedra was the “sole provider” for his family. As of June 27, the fund has received $99,000 in donations.
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