iPhone App Leads NYPD to Assault Suspect

NYPD officers used the Find My iPhone app to locate a suspect accused of assaulting his wife and running off with their year-old daughter

Tech-savvy NYPD officers were honored Thursday after they used their iPhones to track down a suspect who ran off with a 1-year-old baby.

Police said 30-year-old Alexis Torres verbally and physically assaulted his wife in Woodside, Queens, then took off with their daughter Wednesday evening. Responding officers learned Torres had an iPhone, and got his iTunes account information from his wife.

Using the Find My iPhone app, police Sgt. Peter Cassiere was able to track the phone in Brooklyn and continued to track the suspect to the East Village in Manhattan, officials said. Police arrested Torres just after 9 p.m. and took his child as he was taken into police custody.

"Without the use of the technology, it would have been very difficult to locate them," said Lt. James Lombardi, who responded to the initial call in Woodside.

One of the responding police officers fed and changed the baby, getting food and diapers from a nearby drugstore, before taking her to a hospital for evaluation.

"My main concern was that she was OK," said Officer Marita Mendez. "I have a daughter and a niece who's a year old, so it was almost like second nature to pick her up and change her and feed her. I didn't even give it a second thought."

Torres, an employee for the Department of Education, was charged with assault, strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child.

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