09-07-2009, 04:30 PM
VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M.
Detectives are interested in what a thief left behind in a string of burglaries in Valencia County.
A Belen home is one of hundreds targeted by thieves in Valencia County, but deputies said this burglary was different.
The county sheriff said the bandit stole guns that were more like heirlooms to the homeowner.
The guns were passed down through the generations and the homeowner, who was afraid to show his face, said he is still coming to grips with the loss.
"It's like they ripped my heart out," the homeowner said.
It's what the bandit did next that's baffling.
He smoked the cigarettes in the home.
"He ate their food and drank the drinks they had," said Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera.
The thief used the bathroom and left his solid waste on display for the homeowner."It's more of an insult right there. It was a big slap in the face," the homeowner said.That same type of evidence was found at several different burglary scenes.
The detectives on the case said they used the thief's calling card against him. The feces went into evidence and the state crime lab extracted DNA from it.
"We ended up getting a hit," Rivera said.The hit came from the state's DNA database and deputies said they now have a possible suspect.The man turned out to be a convicted burglar who is on parole.
"We still had to go in and get a body search warrant and get DNA from him," Rivera said.
The sheriff is waiting for the lab to come back and link DNA from the feces to the fresh DNA from the man.Sheriff deputies said they will not release the name of the accused thief and are waiting for a lab match before filing charges.
Detectives are interested in what a thief left behind in a string of burglaries in Valencia County.
A Belen home is one of hundreds targeted by thieves in Valencia County, but deputies said this burglary was different.
The county sheriff said the bandit stole guns that were more like heirlooms to the homeowner.
The guns were passed down through the generations and the homeowner, who was afraid to show his face, said he is still coming to grips with the loss.
"It's like they ripped my heart out," the homeowner said.
It's what the bandit did next that's baffling.
He smoked the cigarettes in the home.
"He ate their food and drank the drinks they had," said Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera.
The thief used the bathroom and left his solid waste on display for the homeowner."It's more of an insult right there. It was a big slap in the face," the homeowner said.That same type of evidence was found at several different burglary scenes.
The detectives on the case said they used the thief's calling card against him. The feces went into evidence and the state crime lab extracted DNA from it.
"We ended up getting a hit," Rivera said.The hit came from the state's DNA database and deputies said they now have a possible suspect.The man turned out to be a convicted burglar who is on parole.
"We still had to go in and get a body search warrant and get DNA from him," Rivera said.
The sheriff is waiting for the lab to come back and link DNA from the feces to the fresh DNA from the man.Sheriff deputies said they will not release the name of the accused thief and are waiting for a lab match before filing charges.
I would stop eating chocolate.. but I'm not a quitter!
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