Buckhead Bar Serial Rapist Sentenced To Life + 60 Years

ATLANTA, GA -- A man posing as an Uber driver who sexually assaulted two women who were leaving the Buckhead bar district has been sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years. Gabriel Rendon-Villasana, 33, was found guilty and sentenced last week in Fulton County Superior Court. DNA evidence tield Rendon-Villasana to both assaults.

The first assault happened early on June 21, 2015, when a 19-year-old woman was in Buckhead with a group of friends when they decided it was time to leave. The victim and her male friend were picked up by Rendon-Villasana, who claimed to be an Uber driver. Villasana drove the female victim and her male friend to a hotel at Tower Place and Piedmont Road. The male passenger got out, but Villasana sped away with woman still in the backseat.

The male passenger called police to report his friend was kidnapped. Villasana then raped the woman in the vehicle and left her on a sidewalk on Lakemore Drive, more than three miles from the hotel. A good-Samaritan returned her to the hotel where she was staying with her friends. The victim was intoxicated and did not remember the encounter with Villasana. However, a sexual assault kit confirmed the presence of unidentified male DNA.

Four months later, Villasana identified himself as an Uber driver to a 22-year-old woman and her male friend who were leaving a Buckhead bar. The woman and her friend got into the back seat of a Kia Sorrento Villasana was driving. When they arrived at the man's he exited the vehicle, but before he could close the door, Villasana sped off with the woman still in the backseat.

Sandy Springs police spotted the Kia Sorento, driving at night without its headlights on, about 14 miles from the spot where the male passenger exited the vehicle. Police pursued the Kia Sorrento, and Villasana stopped but fled the scene on foot. Police found the woman, who was intoxicated, in the car. A sexual assault kit test revealed the presence of male DNA.

Sandy Springs police discovered seven pairs of used female undergarments in the Sorrento.

Police found Villasana's phone in the vehicle. He was arrested in Marietta the next day. His DNA was eventually identified in both of the assaults.

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