Crime & Safety

DNA Evidence Leads To Burglary Conviction Of Woodbury Man

After leaving cigarette butts behind at a 2008 burglary in Lakeland, Darrick Jerald Vall, 23, was recently convicted in Washington County District Court.

A Woodbury man whose cigarette butts were left behind during a 2008 burglary was recently sentenced to jail time and 10 years of probation.

Darrick Jerald Vall, 23, was convicted after he was obtained from cigarettes found at a Lakeland, MN, home that was burglarized in May 2008.

A month after the break-in, the daughter of the homeowner, who helps take care of the home because her parents are in a nursing home, flagged down deputies who were doing extra patrols in the area. She gave them two cigarette butts she found while cleaning the house, which had been ransacked. Several items at the home were stolen and someone had attempted to hot wire a car in the garage.

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The cigarette butts were sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) for testing. Initially, there was no match, though BCA officials said they would periodically check back through their database.

On June 29, 2010, the BCA contacted the Washington County detective assigned to the case, saying the DNA matched Vall, who had a prior conviction.

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The detective later obtained a search warrant for a "buccal" swab of Vall, and in August the BCA confirmed that the cigarette butts were his.

Among the items stolen were power tools from the basement and the garage, including two circular saws, a cordless drill and a Toolmaster torque wrench.


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