SAN ANTONIO – Co-workers of a medical transportation driver who was carjacked and left naked on a Northeast Side street corner said the ordeal has left the whole company shaken.
San Antonio police arrested Earnest Marble, 24, in connection with the crime. They believe that he is one of two men involved in the carjacking, which happened around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday.
An arrest warrant affidavit said a 62-year-old man told police that he arrived at an apartment complex in the 5400 block of Midcrown Drive to drive a client to a medical appointment. He said two men with guns approached him, demanded his wallet and other property, then forced him back into his company van.
The affidavit said the men drove the victim around for about an hour, attempting along the way to obtain his PIN for his debit card. The man told police the that robbers made him remove all his clothing, which they tossed out the window, then forced him out of the van in a neighborhood at the corner of Village Trail and Village View Drive.
KSAT 12 News learned that the victim works for Ride Aid Transportation, a company that shuttles people to medical appointments.
Tony Ybarra, the office manager, said dispatchers realized something was wrong when they were not able to reach the driver.
"We had clients, and one by one they were calling for (estimated times of arrival) and they weren't being picked up,” he said. "(His) wife called. He wasn't answering. We called the son. The son called. He wasn't answering. We sent text messages. No response."
Ybarra said the robbery was a first for the company. He said although it was “uncharacteristic” for the driver not to answer calls, no one imagined that he might be in that kind of trouble.
It wasn’t until San Antonio police called that Ybarra learned what happened.
The affidavit said police used an app to locate the driver’s stolen cellphone, then found the stolen van in the area.
They said Marble was one of several people who tried to run from the van, but officers caught him and arrested him, the affidavit said.
The driver also identified Marble as one of the carjackers, the affidavit said.
Marble was booked into the Bexar County Jail with bond set at $200,000.