LAPD investigating August 31 incident
By Sam Catanzaro
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating an incident from this summer in which a passenger was robbed at gunpoint by his Lyft driver, who remains at large, in Westwood.
According to the LAPD, Albert Sera was picked up after a night out in West Hollywood at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard around 1:45 a.m. on August 31. During the drive to Sera’s residence in the San Fernando Valley, the driver turned off of Wilshire Boulevard onto a dark area of Comstock Avenue in Westwood.
The driver then stopped the car and pointed a semiautomatic handgun at Sera, ordering him to “get out” of the vehicle. Sera got out of the car, leaving behind nearly $3,000 worth of belongings. In addition, Sera says the driver has run up thousands of dollars on his credit cards left behind.
According to the LAPD, the suspect requested multiple Lyft rides using the victim’s phone, several of which were canceled which may have been an attempt to disguise his own identity. As reported by KTLA, because of the driver canceled the trip when Sera got into the vehicle, the driver’s name and picture were not saved into Sera’s Lyft account, making it harder to prove his identity.
According to Lyft, the driver goes by the name Nasser and was driving a 2017 Chevrolet Suburban.
Century City Westwood News has reached out to Lyft asking for more details into why they are unable to fully identify the driver.
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. What the rider described is frightening, and the driver’s access to Lyft has been permanently removed. We responded immediately and have been in close contact with the rider since the incident. We have been in touch with law enforcement and responded to all requests related to their investigation,” said Lyft spokesperson in an email
