Uber driver Shawn McCastle knew something was strange within minutes of picking up three men at a Conyers Waffle House.
“I’ve never had a Uber trip where the person didn’t know where they were going,” McCastle told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Nearly three hours later, with the men still in his Volvo, McCastle was able to lead police to a Gwinnett County home. The three Uber passengers were suspects, accused of shooting a man in the head inside a hotel room, according to police.
Early on Nov. 24, McCastle picked up the trio at a Waffle House in Conyers and was told simply to drive to Snellville, he said Thursday. McCastle obliged, and the drive was mostly quiet as the three passengers slept, he said.
When they arrived in the Snellville area, McCastle had to wake up his passengers. But before he did, he took pictures of them with his cell phone. Something told him he might need them later, he said.
His passengers awakened to tell McCastle to drive to a Days Inn on Glenn Club Drive. The parking lot there was filled with police cars, McCastle said. Later, he would find out police were trying to determine who shot 52-year-old Juan Casillas in the head in a hotel room, leaving the North Carolina man seriously injured.
The three men told McCastle to drive them elsewhere, first to a Krystal, then a McDonald’s, and then a Kroger.
“I figured something was going on,” McCastle said. “I just didn’t know what at the time.”
As the conversation and demands for him to drive intensified, McCastle placed a phone call to 911, but pretended he was talking to a friend. He and the operator would get disconnected several times.
“Do you have an emergency? What is your location?” the 911 operator asked in an audio released Thursday.
“I was just giving someone an Uber ride on Highpoint Road,” McCastle said, as calmly as possible.
McCastle tried to offer clues about where he was and what was happening.
“It was very frustrating to not be able to answer her questions,” McCastle said.
The operator continued asking questions during the call, which lasted 20 minutes. Several minutes into the call, the operator realizes why she’s not getting answers.
“Are you getting carjacked?” she asked.
“That’s really unclear at this point,” McCastle replied.
Finally, McCastle is told to go to a house on Newtons Crest Circle, just off Scenic Highway in Snellville. Moments later, police are there, and McCastle is able to finally get out of his car.
“Thank you, because I think they were getting ready to carjack me,” McCastle tells the operator. “Thank you so much.”
Standing near what is now a crime scene, McCastle learned his hunch was correct. His three passengers were suspected in a robbery and shooting at the Days Inn.
One suspect was quickly detained while the other two scaled a fence and ran into a backyard. Both of those men were quickly caught in the area and arrested, according to police.
On Thursday, the names of the three suspects and their charges were released. All three remained in the Gwinnett jail, where they were being held without bond.
Richard Anthony McKoy, 19, of Snellville and Reggie Tequen Greene, 21, of Lithonia were each charged with four counts of armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault, Cpl. Michele Pihera said.
Thomas Nikay Shatner, 21, of Snellville was charged with four counts of armed robbery, three counts of simple battery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, riot, participating in gang activity, robbery and battery, according to police.
Without even knowing it, McCastle helped police find three suspects. Fortunately, he wasn’t injured.
“It could’ve turned violent at any point during that dropoff,” he said.
Since the ordeal, McCastle said he has limited his Uber trips while seeking a full-time job in human relations.
“I just feel like the safety of the drivers are really at jeopardy,” McCastle said.
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