Miami Woman Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Fellow Uber Passenger After Night Out

A Florida woman has been charged with gunning down another woman in the backseat of a packed Uber following a night of drinking and partying over the weekend.

Natalia Harrell, 24, has been charged with the murder of Gladys Yvette Borcela, 28, who was allegedly gunned down in a Cadillac Escalade during an Uber trip in downtown Miami on Saturday morning. 

Police say Borcela was shot and killed after a verbal dispute unfolded between the two women in the backseat of the vehicle at around 2:15 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com. Seven total passengers — including four men and three woman — and the driver were in the SUV at the time of the incident.

Investigators say that the four men in the group met Harrell and the other woman — who said she'd been living with Harrell — while out drinking In South Beach. The six of them proceeded to another club and outdoor event space in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood around 10:00 p.m., where they ordered bottle service. Borcela joined the group at the third woman's invitation around 1:00 a.m.

Gladys Borcela Photo: Facebook

The three women, the men said, all appeared to know each other, and Borcela and Harrell were initially “friendly” with one another. As the night carried on, the third woman said that Harrell got frustrated with Borcela after she started to “drink and dance,” the affidavit alleged, texting her to “get her girl under control."

When the venue closed, the group ordered an Uber shortly after 2:00 a.m. to the Icon Hotel and Residences in Miami, where one of the four men lives.

Once in the Uber, Borcela and Harrell were seated beside each other in the SUV’s third row and “started bickering and calling each other names,” according to the third woman. As the verbal dispute escalated, Harrell allegedly crawled into the front of the Uber so she was facing the other passengers. 

The third woman told police that Harrell repeatedly shouted, “You don’t want this; you don’t want me to go into my purse.” Harrell allegedly then pulled out a small black pistol out of her purse and shot Borcela once.

Surveillance footage captured from inside the vehicle allegedly also shows the two women arguing prior to Harrell pulling out a small caliber gun out of her purse and firing at Borcela. 

The Uber driver pulled over following the gunshot and scrambled out of the vehicle — as did Harrell and the other passengers. Borcela, who was gravely wounded, remained in the Cadillac. The SUV’s passengers then fled the scene, according to charging documents. 

Upon arrival, authorities found Borcela had sustained a gunshot wound to the right side of her torso and left arm. She was rushed to Jackson Ryder Trauma Center where she was later pronounced dead. Her death was subsequently ruled a homicide by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office. No one else was injured in the incident.

Harrell was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

"Violence has no place on the Uber platform, and our thoughts are with Ms. Borcela’s family in the wake of their heartbreaking loss,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement sent to Oxygen.com. “We’ve been in touch with the driver to check in on their well-being, and are prepared to assist law enforcement in their investigation.”

The suspect being held without bail at a Miami-Dade County detention facility, according to online jail records obtained by Oxygen.com. The 24-year-old pleaded not guilty on July 26. Her defense attorney, Joshua Alexander, didn’t respond to requests for comment on Thursday morning.

She had been previously arrested in April for battery, assault and criminal mischief, according to separate court filings.