(Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
QUINCY (WBZ-AM) -- An Uber driver was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Quincy District Court after a woman reported he touched her inappropriately and locked the door when she asked to get out of his car.
Driver Kastriot Naksi, 46 of West Roxbury, is charged with indecent assault and battery, as well as kidnapping.
He appeared to be fighting back tears in court as he was ordered held without bail.
Police say a woman told them that, while riding in Naksi's Uber and en route to her drop-off point on Cottage Avenue Wednesday afternoon, Naksi pulled over to the side of the road and told her to get in the front seat.
She said she agreed, because she had selected the ride-sharing Uber Pool option and expected another rider to join.
She said Naksi then touched her inappropriately, and locked the doors when she told him to stop. That's when she texted a friend about the assault--and that friend called police.
"I think the victim did the right thing by reaching out to somebody while she was in a dangerous situation, making somebody aware of where she is and what was going on," Quincy Police Sgt. Karyn Barkas told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker. "I think that was a very smart move on her part."
The victim also sent her friend a screenshot of her current location, police said.
Quincy Police got a call around 1 p.m. from that friend, who was able to relay the car's license plate number, make, and model to them.
An officer spotted and stopped Naksi in his gray Honda Civic on Cottage Avenue around 1:20, and got the victim out of the car.
Naksi's wife, Monika, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens outside court that there's no way her husband is guilty.
"I've known my husband since I was a kid," she said. "I've been married to him for 23 years, and I know what kind of husband I have. That is impossible for him to do."
She said her husband was an honored member of the military in Albania, and that they moved to the US seven years ago. She also said he was working three jobs.
She even went so far as to suggest the woman may be lying and may have flirted with her husband--and that he might have touched her "in his moment of weakness."
Sgt. Barkas said the incident appears to be isolated.
"I can't think of anything off the top of my head where we've had one like this," Sgt. Barkas said.
Naksi is due back in court December 6 for a dangerousness hearing.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports