LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A driver accused of punching and dragging a woman after a minor car crash in Las Vegas earlier in the summer was arrested in Newport News, Virginia, according to documents obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators.
Jose Soriano, 42, was taken into custody in Newport News, Virginia on Aug. 12.
The victim, Sarah Goolsby, told police she had a minor crash with another vehicle on June 9 and as she approached the other driver to exchange information, he (Soriano) grabbed her phone, threw it on the ground, shattering it, and then “hit Goolsby with a closed fist, causing her to fall to the ground… he then dragged her and hit her several more times with a closed fist,” the arrest warrant stated.
“Nothing warranted that,” Goolsby told 8 News Now. “He got in his car and drove off.”
A nearby resident on Rainbow Boulevard near Spring Valley Parkway took cellphone video of what occurred after the crash. The video showed a man punching and dragging Goolsby before fleeing the crash scene. That video was used to help identify Soriano and his vehicle and a warrant for his arrest was filed on July 31 with the Las Vegas Justice Court.
“God bless her because that video was everything,” Goolsby said.
The warrant stated Soriano “has an extremely violent prior criminal history and has been evading arrest by flight.”
Documents state Soriano has a history of violent arrests, including battery, several counts of domestic violence, coercion with force, intimidation of a public officer, and destruction of another’s property. Officers even expressed concern about being able to take Soriano into custody with the public’s safety in mind due to his violent nature.
“They arrested my attacker,” Sarah Goolsby wrote on a Facebook post Tuesday night. She added that he was driving the same car involved in the crash but had a new paint job.
During an interview in June, Goolsby provided photos of her injuries and damage to her car, asking for the public’s help in identifying the alleged attacker.
According to the warrant, Soriano faces charges of battery, coercion with physical force, destroying the property of another, and leaving the scene of a crash. He is awaiting extradition back to Las Vegas. He is due to appear in a Newport News, Virginia courtroom on Aug. 16.
Goolsby said she is thankful for input from the community and efforts by police which she believes helped track down the man accused of attacking her.
“All the love that I have seen and heard and felt from the community is just amazing,” she said. “I hate that it happened to me, but it could have been way worse, and if we catch him and this is what brought him to justice, I’m totally good with it.”
