Hollywood beating victim remains hospitalized as family members push police for answers – WPLG Local 10

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Frank Penkava remains in the hospital, sedated, and still too unstable for doctors to perform the surgery he desperately needs.

Now, the question remains, why did it take so long for detectives to begin investigating this case?

Gina Horvath, Penkava’s sister, is still horrified by what happened to her little brother just over a week ago.

“I believe that this, this was attempted murder,” Horvath said.

Penkava was brutally beaten near his Hollywood home in the early morning hours of June 14. Since then, he has spent much of the last week and a half sedated at Memorial Regional Hospital.

But it wasn’t until Tuesday, more than eight days after the attack, that Hollywood police actually went to Penkava’s apartment and began investigating.

In a statement, the Hollywood Police Department told Local 10 News:

“Officers made contact with the victim who had injuries to his head and facial area. The victim advised officers that he did not wish to prosecute and refused to provide suspect information.”

But Horvath and her family believe Penkava was in no physical or mental state to decide that, and want to know why that prevented officers from investigating.

Local 10 News spoke to attorney Eric Schwartzreich and asked about the situation.

“It’s incumbent upon police to look at all of the factors, to do their own investigation,” Schwartzreich said. “Even though the victim is saying, ‘I do not want to press charges, I do not want to cooperate,’ the police can still go forward. Especially when someone was found in the condition that this victim was found in.”

Local 10 News also reached out to the state attorney’s office, which sent back a statement that said:

“Police investigate cases and make arrests and the cases are then presented to prosecutors for a formal charging decision. Criminal charges can be filed when there is sufficient evidence to support those charges and a reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Penkava’s family has created a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills and raising the Crime Stoppers reward. To view the page, click here.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

“It is not up to the victim to say I want to prosecute or not,” said Schwartzreich. “Certainly they take that into consideration but the state often, and usually, will go forward without a victim if they believe they can prove their case.”

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