DNA on hat results in arrest

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SANTA FE Switching a cowboy hat for a UNM Lobos baseball cap might be a fair swap but not when Santa Fe police say the DNA on the cowboy hat connects you to a car burglary.

The investigation resulted in the arrest of Skylar Smith, 21, of Albuquerque, who was possibly tied to another vehicle break-in in Rio Rancho.

This and other recent incidents demonstrate how police are using DNA technology, already widely used in rape and murder cases, to investigate burglaries and larcenies.

SMITH: Held on a $50,000 cash-only bond

According to search warrant affidavits, this most recent case began with a Santa Fe police investigation of a November 2012 break-in of a pickup truck on Camino Piedra Lumbre. The burglar stole the Lobo cap and a pair of leather gloves but left the cowboy hat, which was sent to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory for testing.

It turned out to match DNA obtained from a cigarette butt left inside a burglarized vehicle in Rio Rancho, and that cigarette match was made to a previous Rio Rancho case against Smith.

Smith was booked into the Santa Fe County jail on burglary and larceny charges on Feb. 20 and is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. There have been several other cases against Smith, including at least two stolen car charges, court records show.

All convicted felons are required to provide a DNA sample when arrested and booked into any state facility. Advancements in DNA technology have dramatically increased the solvability of many lower-level crimes, said Santa Fe police spokeswoman Celina Westervelt. Now we can even get touch DNA off of partial fingerprints collected at a scene or extract DNA evidence from a piece of stolen property.

In another recent DNA match case, in November 2013, a team of Santa Fe police officers and detectives chased down Kenneth L. Martinez on an arrest warrant on Cerrillos Road and found jewelry in the car that was later positively identified as coming from several home burglaries in the Santa Fe area.

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DNA on hat results in arrest