San Luis Obispo County jury convicts Uber driver of rape, burglary
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - A San Luis Obispo County jury returned guilty verdicts on 13 counts of sexual crimes and burglary against a Santa Maria Uber driver Friday evening.
42-year-old Alfonso Alarcon-Nunez was convicted of three counts of assault with the intent to commit rape during a residential burglary, four counts of burglary of an occupied residence, one count of rape by force, two counts of rape of an intoxicated individual, one count of oral copulation of an intoxicated individual, one count of assault with intent to commit rape and one count of grand theft.
These cases involved five separate victims and took place between July 2017 and January 2018.
The District Attorney's Office said Alarcon-Nunez was working as an Uber driver in the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County areas at the time of the crimes. He reportedly took advantage of his victims after taking them home.
“The five victims in this case were brave and courageous in providing the evidence and testimony necessary to achieve justice,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “These predatory crimes were committed against particularly vulnerable victims who placed their trust in the defendant to get them home safely when they were not in a condition to drive a vehicle. Finally, we are grateful for the jury who served and listened to the startling evidence during this time of pandemic.”
The jury reached their verdict after nearly two weeks of testimony and one-half day of deliberation. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2021 at 8:30am in Department 5 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
Alarcon-Nunez faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison for his convictions. He was arrested in January 2018 and entered a not guilty plea. During a press conference later that month, Dow said Alarcon-Nunez was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and was voluntarily deported from New Mexico in 2005.
