JEREMY PAWLOSKI | Staff writer Published March 15, 2012 Modified March 15, 2012

DNA analysis of fresh blood left at a Tumwater restaurant after it was burglarized last year led to a mans conviction and sentencing Thursday for second-degree burglary.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor sentenced Damon Leroy Stevens to six and a half years in prison for the charge, a felony.

Stevens already is serving a prison sentence of five years and eight months on separate convictions that include an attempted burglary out of King County. The new sentence will run concurrent to Stevens sentence, meaning he will end up serving only an additional 10 months in prison.

Tabor pointed out during Stevens sentencing that Stevens has 12 prior felony convictions as an adult, including convictions for four other burglaries. Two of Stevens convictions involved a burglary of the Rusty Tractor Restaurant in Elma, and of Characters Corner, a bar in the Steamboat Island area, in 2010.

Stevens attorney, Alex Frix, said in court that most of Stevens burglary convictions occurred within a relatively short period as part of a spree attributed to Stevens former drug habit.

Tumwater Police Detective Jen Kolb asked the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab to analyze blood left at the Plaza Jalisco restaurant on Capitol Boulevard after a burglary there Feb. 7, 2011, court papers state. She said the blood was apparently left there after a suspect suffered a cut after breaking a plate-glass window to enter the restaurant after hours.

Kolb said she suspected that Stevens might be responsible because the methods were similar to those used in the robbery of the Rusty Tractor in Elma, which Stevens had been arrested on suspicion of committing.

The blood was compared to Stevens DNA profile, on record with the state Department of Corrections because of Stevens past convictions, court papers state. Analysis revealed a match.

(T)he estimated probability of selecting an unrelated individual at random from the U.S. population with a matching profile was 1 in 9.1 trillion, court papers state.

Read the original post:
DNA analysis of blood leads to conviction in Tumwater crime