DNA found inside baseball cap ties suspect to March murder

DNA evidence found inside a baseball cap led New Orleans police to arrest a man Tuesday in the March murder of a man in eastern New Orleans, according to records filed in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. An anonymous tip also helped lead detectives to 22-year-old Armand Williams, who was arrested in the murder of Tyson Pittman, 27, the record shows.

Pittman was found shot to death on March 26 about 10:40 p.m., inside a car parked outside an apartment complex in the 8000 block of Trapier Avenue.

Police said when they arrived on the scene, Pittman's body was slumped over the wheel in the driver's seat of a gray Nissan Altima. The driver's side window was riddled with bullet holes and the rear passenger's side window was shattered.

Police searched the car and found two baseball caps, only one of which belonged to Pittman, the car's owner told detectives.

The other hat -- a "New Era" Miami Dolphins baseball cap -- was found on the passenger seat of the car.

Sometime during the investigation, detectives began questioning Williams. He told them that he had been in Pittman's car earlier that week, but that he hadn't left anything in the car.

Both hats found in the car, Pittman's cap and the Dolphins cap, were taken to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab, where they were tested for DNA. The hat that was said to belong to Pittman had a mixture of different profiles, police said, and so did the Dolphins cap, although tests showed that Williams' DNA was a "major contributor" to the Dolphins cap.

Police again interviewed Williams and he again told police that he hadn't been inside Pittman's car the night of the murder and reiterated that he hadn't left any articles of clothing inside the car on previous occasions.

Records show that detectives also received an anonymous tip identifying Williams and, that coupled with the DNA evidence, police were able to secure an arrest warrant for him. Williams was booked on charges of second-degree murder. He is being held in lieu of a $350,000 bond.

In April of 2013, Williams was arrested on a charge of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and is currently awaiting trial on that charge.

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DNA found inside baseball cap ties suspect to March murder