HUDSON — The man slowed down and asked a woman walking on U.S. 19 if she wanted a ride. She said no. He asked again. When she refused the second time, authorities said, Tommy Garcia stopped the car, swung open his door and leveled a gun at the woman.
Garcia, 38, told her to get inside and she did, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said. He drove her to a wooded area in Hudson about 8 p.m. Wednesday, forced her out of the car and raped her at gunpoint, a report states.
Before he left her there on the ground, deputies said, he told her to not tell anyone if she wanted to live.
Garcia was arrested Thursday. He is also accused of picking up two other women in December and raping them at gunpoint in the woods. Documents say those two women willingly got into his car.
One victim got a partial license plate number and description of his vehicle, which led detectives to Garcia — who was then picked out of a photo lineup by the victims, the reports state.
Garcia is charged with three counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon and one count of kidnapping. Pasco sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said there will likely be more victims.
Garcia, of 11215 Nome Ave. in Port Richey, told investigators he picked up prostitutes and paid them for oral sex, but he never used force on the women. A pellet gun was found at his house, the report states.
He is being held without bail at the Pasco jail.
Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@tampabay.com or (727) 869-6229.
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