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On the night of Aug. 24, 2014, Frank Polanco-Batista, 28, entered the Roosevelt Ballroom at approximately 2 a.m. where he preceded to the ladies bathroom. Once inside, he hid in a stall and laid in wait, the district attorney said.
A female victim entered the bathroom and walked into an adjacent stall. When she exited the stall she was in, the female victim was assaulted by the Polanco-Batista who attempted to rape her; tearing her clothes and undergarments. He ran off when someone else came in and the victim was unable to identify him, the district attorney said.
Around three hours later at approximately 5:20 a.m., police officers from the Yonkers Police Department responded to the scene of a reported robbery on South Broadway. Upon their arrival, the victim told police that she was in the parking lot next to the White Castle calling a taxi when an unknown male, later learned to be the defendant, approached her from behind, stood in front of her, and grabbed her iPhone out of her hand.
She told police that when she demanded her cell phone back and attempted to take it from the defendant, he forced his hand down her shirt, groped her breast, and pulled at her shirt causing it to tear, the district attorney said.
Shortly after speaking with police, the victim gave them a description of the defendant and told them he fled west on Highland Avenue. His description was aired over the radio, and shortly thereafter, the defendant, who matched the description, was seen running, and was detained. Police then transported the victim to that location.
Police in their investigation of the street attack were able to link Batista to the earlier attack through DNA analysis from skin cells found under the first victim’s fingernails and a t-shirt worn during that attack, the district attorney said.
Assistant District Attorney Michelle Lopez, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case.
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