Published July 30 2015
On Wednesday, July 29, Bellevue Police Detectives arrested a 23-year-old Bellevue man for burglary after DNA evidence led to his identification.
On April 13, Bellevue Police responded to a burglary at a residence in the 6200 block of 129th Avenue Southeast. The responding officers found three dried blood droplets on a floor of the residence. Officers collected a sample of the blood, which was submitted to the Washington State Patrol's crime lab for testing. The crime lab compared the DNA of the blood sample that was submitted against the Combined DNA Index System, resulting in a match identifying the suspect from the blood sample.
Detectives soon learned that the suspect had recently been released from prison after serving time for committing burglaries in Bellevue in 2013.
The crime analyst for the Bellevue Police, Dr. Shawna Gibson, identified at least 15 crimes committed in a two-month period within a one-mile radius of the address which the suspect had been staying, to include seven burglaries. The burglary reported on April 13 had been one of those burglaries.
On July 29, Detectives with the Bellevue Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team located and arrested the suspect in the Newport Hills neighborhood. The suspect later confessed to the April 13 burglary, as well as 10 others in Bellevue.
Major Pat Spak with the Bellevue Police Department stated: "This arrest would not have been possible without the teamwork of all those involved, from the patrol officers that responded to the initial burglary, the lab technicians at the WSP crime lab, our crime analyst and the detectives assigned to this case, and it is because of their hard work that a prolific burglar is now behind bars."