MIAMI (WSVN) - A 24-year-old man pled guilty to kidnapping a rideshare driver at gunpoint and forcing the victim to drive from Texas to South Florida.
Miguel Alejandro Pastran Hernandez admitted to the August crime during a hearing on Tuesday.
According to court documents, the incident began on Aug. 16 in Arlington, Texas, when Pastran Hernandez ordered a rideshare driver to take him to a gas station. Once there, he pulled out a gun, used a phone app to instruct the driver to avoid law enforcement, and demanded they travel to Florida.
Prosecutors said Pastran Hernandez armed himself with a handgun he found in the victim’s car, loaded it, and used it to coerce the driver during the two-day journey.
Upon arriving in Miami Beach on Aug. 18, Pastran Hernandez surveilled the home of a social media influencer, planning to kidnap them or a family member for a $3 million ransom, authorities said.
The following day, Pastran Hernandez forced the driver to stop at a store in Hialeah to buy supplies for the planned abduction. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, he fled on foot but was apprehended hours later at a Hollywood park.
Officers found the victim’s loaded handgun in a cross-body bag and additional weapons and tools in Pastran Hernandez’s belongings.
Pastran Hernandez faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, carjacking, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
He is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 20.
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