San Mateo police arrest San Jose rideshare driver on kidnapping, rape charges

SAN MATEO — Authorities on Thursday arrested a rideshare driver suspected of kidnapping and raping a woman in San Mateo over the summer.

The alleged crimes occurred Aug. 14. The victim told officers a man with Uber and Lyft stickers on his car picked her up near Highway 92 and Grant Street, drove her to a secluded area and raped her. She escaped and with help from a passerby called police.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from area businesses and found an image of the suspect vehicle: a gray Toyota hatchback.

Authorities said warrants were written and served at companies including Lyft and Uber. Detectives narrowed down a list of more than 1,100 possible suspect vehicles to five.

More warrants were written and detectives ultimately identified the suspect vehicle as a 2010 Toyota Matrix.

Detectives went on to identify 40-year-old Brandon Sherman, of San Jose, as a suspect using the victim’s statement, a police sketch and information from the warrants. The victim later identified Sherman as the man who had sexually assaulted her.

Authorities arrested Sherman during a traffic stop Thursday morning. He was driving the Toyota authorities believe was used to commit the alleged crimes on Aug. 14.

A search of Sherman’s Calero Avenue home turned up additional evidence linking him to the kidnapping and rape, authorities said.

Sherman was booked into San Mateo County Jail on felony charges of kidnapping with intent to sexually assault, rape and assault with a deadly weapon.

Detectives are investigating whether Sherman committed additional crimes. Anyone with information related to the case can contact San Mateo police at 650-522-7700 or police@cityofsanmateo.org. Tips can be submitted anonymously at 650-522-7676 and http://tinyurl.com/SMPDTips.

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