DNA evidence leads to arrest in robbery of jewelry salesmen

DNA evidence taken from a water bottle has resulted in an arrest of a suspect in a jewelry heist that happened five years ago in Vernon, Conn., The Associated Press reports.

Fabian Roa, 28, was charged June 26 with first-degree robbery and first-degree larceny and was arraigned in a Superior Court.

The charges relate to the March 2001 armed robbery of two jewelry salesmen from New York, the AP reports. They were robbed as they sat in their car outside an area restaurant.

Two robbers in ski masks reportedly smashed the couriers’ car window and stole several satchels of jewelry.

As part of an investigation into the robbery, a police detective swabbed the cap and rim of a Dasani water bottle found in the center armrest of the Nissan Altima used in the robbery that took place in the parking lot of a restaurant on the Hartford Turnpike.

Technicians at the state police forensic lab recovered a DNA profile and entered it into a national database. That database matched the DNA from the car to a DNA sample taken from Roa. A follow-up DNA analysis confirmed that Roa’s DNA was on the water bottle in the car, according to the arrest warrant.

Roa’s bond was set at $250,000. He is currently serving an eight-year federal prison sentence in Miami for robbing jewelry wholesalers in Massachusetts, the AP reports.

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