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Office of the District Attorney P. David Soares Two Plead Guilty in Lark Street Robbery and Assault ALBANY , NY – Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares today announced that a juvenille offender from Ravena, NY pled guilty to Robbery in the 2nd Degree and GIOVANNI BATISTA, 20, of Albany, NY plead guilty to Tampering with Physical Evidence before the Honorable Thomas A. Breslin. The juvenille faces no more than 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison and BATISTA faces 5 years probation. The juvenille and BATISTA admitted that in the early morning hours of November 12, 2006, Alicia Scitz, Amy Pelton and the juvenille, robbed a 24-year-old woman who attended a surprise party for college friend at Bombers Restaurant on Lark Street. As the victim and her friends parted, the victim walked down Hudson Avenue toward her car. The three parked on the opposite side of the intersection at Hudson and Lark and crossed the intersection on foot in the direction of the victim. At that point, Scitz and Pelton attacked the victim from behind and punched her multiple times in the head while struggling to steal her purse. Scitz stabbed the victim in the head with a screwdriver causing a wound requiring a staple to close. The victim gave up her purse after resisting but pursued Scitz, Pelton and the juvenille to record their license plate number. Subsequent police action located the defendants at a Pelton’s residence. The defendants had used the victim’s credit card at Price Chopper and the victim’s wallet was recovered in the residence. The purse was surreptitiously hidden on the body of GIOVANNI BATISTA, who was not involved in the robbery and assault, and then tossed. It was never recovered. District Attorney Soares was pleased with the final resolution in this case and commended the victim for her quick reaction in recording the license plate of her attackers. “I am very satisfied that all of the people involved in this irrational crime have been brought to justice. These criminals, and all others who senselessly assault and harass innocent people on the streets of Albany County, will be held accountable for their actions and penalized accordingly.” The juvenille and BATISTA will be sentenced in June. Scitz and Pelton will be sentenced later this month. Bruce Lennard from the Major Offense Unit handled the prosecution of this case. For more information, contact Heather Streeter Orth. ### For further information contact: Heather Streeter Orth
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