The young woman in the back seat of Tommy Wayne Beard’s car, disguised as an Uber, was passed out and had no idea how she got in the Alabama man’s car or why he had taken photos of her while she was unconscious.
In fact, police say he had a number of photographs of unconscious college-age girls he’d taken, all passed out in his car.
Now police are looking for other victims.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. A Sheriff’s Deputy Noticed a Suspicious Car Driven by Beard & Then Found a Young Woman Passed Out in the Backseat
According to police reports and local media accounts, police in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a sheriff’s deputy noticed what they determined to be a suspicious car near a Northport, Alabama highway in the very early morning hours Saturday. The driver was identified as Beard. Police found an unconscious young woman, a 22-year-old University of Alabama student, in the backseat.
When awakened, the woman told deputies she did not know how she ended up in the car with Beard.
Her last memory was of her leaving a downtown Tuscaloosa club.
2. Beard Told Deputies He Was an Uber Driver. He is Not an Uber Driver. He Just Bought an Uber Sign
According to reports, at first, Beard said he was an Uber driver “taking the intoxicated woman home.” After further questioning, Beard confessed to buying an Uber sign and putting it in his car. He said he pretended to be an Uber driver and admitted he was “picking up people and giving them rides.”
3. The Coed Was Not the First Young Woman Whom he Photographed Passed Out in his Car
It turned out that Beard had a number of “photographs of college-aged females that appeared to be unconscious while they were in the backseat of his vehicle in his cell phone,” local media reported.
The man confessed to police that he had taken pictures of girls that were either intoxicated or otherwise passed out or unconscious “in his vehicle when giving them rides.”
Police do not clarify if he picked them up in that condition or if something else occurred in his car.
4. Beard Has Not Been Charged, But the Tuscaloosa Sheriff’s Violent Crimes Unit is Asking That Anyone Who Rode With Beard Reach Out
According to AL.com, and the fact that Beard has no pending charges nor was he booked into the Tuscaloosa jail based on a copious online search of records, police have not formally charged Beard.
But, the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit is asking anyone that may have ridden with Beard to contact them.
Authorities said he was driving a black 2012 Ford Taurus.
5. Beard is a Married Father & Grandfather & Racing Aficionado
In a photograph he posted to Facebook about a year ago, Beard bragged about having a wild night at a downtown Tuscaloosa bar.
Beard is a married father and grandfather who frequently posts images on his Facebook of his family or checks-in to local eateries with family, for example.