by Jerry Burke
Police reported that officers standing in the lobby of the hotel a little after 10 p.m. Saturday night were responding to a call of a guest's falling ill. While dealing with that situation, the officers observed a man, Michael Garcia, 28, of Rockville Centre, and two girls exiting the elevator. The officers said that both girls appeared to be intoxicated and that one of them was crying.
Police approached Garcia and began questioning him. After a brief investigation, he was placed under arrest for third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape.
According to Detective Robert Cuerbo of the Fifth Precinct, another man under suspicion, Jonathan Jackson, 27, of Valley Stream, was in the vicinity of the hotel at the time of Garcia's arrest, and fled the scene. "After a few hours of looking for him, we established contact with Mr. Jackson," said Cuerbo. "He then surrendered himself to the station at about 4 a.m. the next morning." Jackson was also charged with third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape.
The men had rented a room at the Courtesy Hotel for the evening.
Both victims were taken to the hospital for testing and released. Jackson and Garcia were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Monday.
