SHERMAN OAKS—Phillip Reid Bagwell, 46, of Sherman Oaks, a former Uber driver was arraigned in court on Thursday, January 28 to stand trial on charges that he allegedly assaulted a client with his vehicle.
According to a press release from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, Deputy District Attorney David Berger indicated that Bagwell is facing one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon, car, and attempted extortion and one misdemeanor count of petty theft.
The suspect already had 3 prior felonies which he was convicted of: grand theft in 1990 and 1998, and forgery in 1991. Bagwell was ordered to stand trial on December 16, 2015. Court testimony indicated that Bagwell was the Uber driver for a woman who was headed to a comedy club in West Hollywood on July 9. The alleged victim forgot her cellphone in the defendant’s car, but was able to contact the driver in hopes of retrieving her device.
When Bagwell returned he refused to provide the victim with her cellphone unless the victim paid him. The defendant drove off resulting in the victim falling down and the suspect nearly ran her over, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.
If the suspect is convicted, he could face up to a maximum sentence of 4 years and eight months in state prison. The case is still under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, West Hollywood station.
