DNA On Water Bottle Leads To Suspect In MWC Burglary

Police in Midwest City were able to crack one of their unsolved cases, all thanks to DNA evidence found at the crime scene.

The police report states the homeowner and her son came home on January 1 of this year to find the front door had been kicked in and the house had been ransacked.

Midwest City police say whoever broke into the home on Christine Drive took the family's laptop, X-box, and jewelry.

Now, almost a year later, police have identified 20-year-old Darrell Eugene Black as one of the men responsible for at least one of the burglaries. The discovery comes thanks to DNA evidence left behind at the crime scene.

"With technology and forensics it enables us to find suspects that in the past we would have never been able to identify," said Assistant Police Chief Sid Porter with the Midwest City Police Department.

Midwest City police say it was a water bottle left behind at the crime scene that provided them with their crucial clue. Police found it inside the ransacked home.

"It's great, it's great," said Keisha Jones with Midwest City Police. "They don't always think about stuff like that."

Jones does forensics at the Midwest City Police Department and showed us exactly how easy it is for them to get a DNA sample of something a suspect may have sipped or touched. She says a person's DNA can stay on an undisturbed item for a very long time.

"I mean, if it's outside and it's getting weathered then obviously you can have lost DNA," explained Jones. "But if it's just sitting on someone's kitchen counter, and the homeowner comes home a month later because they were on vacation - then there's a very great chance you're going to get DNA."

Police say a hit in CODIS, a law enforcement DNA database, revealed it was Black's DNA found on that water bottle. He's been in jail before, and will now face one felony count of second-degree burglary.

Neighbors in the area are glad police have identified a suspect. Lloyd Gorrell says he also had a break-in at his home the same month as his neighbor on Christine Drive. He just hopes police are able to track down all the thieves responsible, and marvels at all the advances in forensic science.

"That's outstanding that we can have a way of tracking them down."

Black is still on the run. Once police are able to track him down and arrest him, he will be held at the Oklahoma County jail on $100,000 bond.

If you know Black's whereabouts, call Midwest City police.