An Indiana man has been taken into custody for a 2016 burglary from a motor vehicle after DNA evidence identified him as the suspect.
According to a news release from the Effingham Police Department, the department was notified of several vehicles that had been burglarized on October 14, 2016 while they were parked at businesses on the north end of the city. The Effingham Police Department Bureau of Investigations was called to the scene after several droplets of blood was discovered on and near one of the vehicles. These samples were then sent to the Illinois State Police Division of Forensic Services Crime Lab. The ISP then identified the blood as being a match for 49 year old, Christopher L Brown, of Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Effingham Police Department then received a detailed lab report in September of 2017 and presented it to Effingham County State’s Attorney, Bryan Kibler. Kibler’s Office then issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest, including a bond of $25,000. Brown was located 10 days ago and was taken into custody by the Shelby County, Indiana Sheriff’s Office and is being held in the Shelby County, Indiana jail for other-unrelated charges.
Chief Fuesting praised the teamwork, detailed police work, and modern-day technology used in solving this case. Chief Fuesting stated, “First arriving Officers immediately canvassed the area, inspected the crime scenes, and recognized the importance of analyzing a minute amount of evidence, which turned out to be blood. Detectives processed the scenes and were able to collect that evidence, which led to a positive identification through the technologies of the ISP Crime Lab. As a result of thorough police work, we solved a serious felony crime and took one more criminal off the streets of our community”.