Burglars Leave Blood at the Scene of their Crimes – and DNA Matching Results in Arrests

It’s not just alarm technology that is getting far more sophisticated – with systems you can control remotely, and notify you by text or email when anything happens at your home or business. Recent news reports indicate that forensic science also continues to make serious inroads against crime. And with a burglary taking place every 14 seconds across the US, that is a good thing. Two stories, one from South Carolina and the other from Massachusetts, have similar plot lines. This detail comes from Conway, SC:

 

A Loris man was arrested after DNA linked him to the burglary of a Conway business nearly a year ago, according to Conway police. Darrell Alford of Loris was charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the burglary at Churches Assisting People located in Conway.

From Clue to Arrest

A police officer noticed a broken window, and found the back door of the business was unlocked. Employees reported a computer, phone charger, an intercom system and about $50 dollars in cash were missing. Police found two blood spots on a table where the computer had been located and took samples for DNA testing by the State Law Enforcement Division. Those tests came back and the blood matched.

I’ve seen several stories like this in recent months, but these two struck me as unusually similar. Here’s the news from Milford, MA:

When James Cyr was arrested by Raynham police, Police Capt. Richard Pacheco said “We were aware Milford was looking for him." Milford Police issued a warrant last week for Cyr's arrest, charging him with burglary and malicious destruction over $250 after DNA evidence linked him to a home burglary in the summer of 2008. Police said the suspect cut his hand when he broke through the back door and left a bloody paper towel in the home's bedroom before taking off with cash and valuables. The police sent the evidence to the state police lab, which identified the blood as Cyr's.

These burglars made it easy by leaving such incriminating evidence at the scene – and probably never suspected that they would be tracked down using their own DNA as evidence to link them to their crimes. But, it’s happening more and more, in burglaries as well as homicides (though I suspect these break-ins will never make it into a "CSI" episode!).

DNA Matching – The Science

DNA profiling is not new – in fact, the technique dates back to 1984, but the last decade has seen tremendous advances in use by the criminal justice system. And it’s good to know that DNA matching is not only used to identify the guilty party: it may also be used to exonerate an innocent person, mistakenly accused of a crime.

Of course, FrontPoint wants to prevent the burglar getting into your home in the first place – or to scare him away if he does. Deterrent is always the first defense, followed by detection, and it’s been shown that a home without a monitored alarm system is three times more likely to experience a break-in than the monitored home next door. That’s a compelling statistic, even without all the remote control and notification features available from an advanced system. As the leader in interactive, wireless home security, we offer the best in systems that are safer, smarter, simpler, and more affordable – and virtually impossible to defeat. When it comes to burglars, FrontPoint is more than a match!