Police use blood trail to find alleged would-be robber

Belleville police have released a report describing how the resistance of a potential robbery victim and her son generated a blood trail that allowed police to identify and then arrest the alleged robber. The case began with a home burglary attempt in June 2017 and an arrest of the suspect in August 2017. At the present time, the evidence appears to heavily favor the prosecution and suggests that the suspect may need a competent criminal defense attorney.

The case began on June 12th when a man allegedly spotted the robbery victim at an ATM machine and followed her home. The suspect approached the woman as she was stepping out of her car in her garage. The man allegedly brandished a handgun and demanded money. The woman said that she had none in her possession but that she had some money in her house. She also knew that her 27-year-old son was home.

After she let the suspect enter her house, the woman attempted to close a door that would separate the suspect from her and her son. The suspect allegedly forced his way into the second room and began to struggle with the son. The suspect allegedly shot the son in the stomach, but the son continued to struggle with the intruder. The son managed to hit the suspect on the head and face with the handgun with enough force to cause the suspect to bleed. The accused individual then allegedly fled from the house but left a trail of blood droplets. Police ran the blood droplets through a DNA database and identified the man believed to have made the attempted robbery. He was arrested on August 10th and charged with home invasion, aggravated battery with a firearm, attempted armed robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon. His preliminary hearing was set for September 12th.

Even though the evidence in this case appears to favor the prosecution, the suspect is entitled to be presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Anyone facing serious criminal charges like this may wish to consult a capable criminal defense attorney for an evaluation of the evidence. After all, sometimes even the strongest evidence is found to be inadmissible after crafty legal arguments are made.

Source: Belleville News-Democrat, “Victim fights back, cops say, giving them blood to track ATM shooter,” Dana Rieck, Sep. 8, 2017