Arrest Made In Miami Beach Elevator Attack

MIAMI BEACH, FL — An arrest was made Thursday in the case of a 68-year-old woman who was attacked in the elevator of her oceanfront condominium building after returning from a morning jog.

Twenty-three-year-old Martin Alexander Bodden II, who is homeless, was charged with burglary with assault or battery, according to Miami Beach police.

Bodden was also charged with strongarm robbery in connection with an unrelated incident at a Walgreens in which Bodden allegedly stole a woman's iPhone from her back pocket while she stood in the checkout line. Both incidents occurred on Wednesday.

Miami Beach police said Bodden confessed to both incidents. Police said Bodden was wearing the same clothes and shoes that he wore during the Walgreens robbery when he was spotted by a Miami Beach police officer on Thursday.

The elevator attack occurred in the millionaire's row section of the city inside the Mimosa building, which is located at 4747 Collins Avenue.

Bodden allegedly followed the woman into her elevator and attempted to lift up her shirt and skirt.

"He entered the elevator with the victim and then began attacking her," said the agency's Ernesto Rodriguez. "He made attempts to raise her skirt and shirt while the victim fought him off."

Bodden told police that he was trying to get the woman's cellphone, according to the arrest report.

Police said the woman pressed multiple buttons inside the elevator and got away when the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor.

"The subject stayed in the elevator. He is seen in surveillance video exiting onto the third floor where he is walking in the hallway," Rodriguez said. "He begins to wipe the elevator button with his shirt and then proceeds to conceal his face with a secondary shirt he had around his neck. He then gets back in the elevator exiting on the first floor and runs out through the front door."

Miami Beach police released surveillance video of the man involved in the elevator attack. He can be seen getting out of the elevator and pacing around the third floor of the building after the attack. Watch below:

The arrest report said building security attempted to stop the man as he left the building , but they were unable to do so. Bodden allegedly followed behind the woman when she was admitted to the building through a secure entrance.