FRIENDSHIP, Maine — DNA from blood left behind during a break-in at a home here in May has led to the arrest of a suspect.
Barry Reed, 34, of Friendship was arrested this week and charged with burglary and theft, according to a complaint filed in Knox County Unified Court.
The home was broken into on May 14. A grandfather clock, an Old Town canoe, a flat-screen television and other household items were reported taken in the burglary.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office investigated and found that the burglar had cut himself breaking a window to get into the home. Blood left at the scene was tested against DNA profiles in the state’s Convicted Offender Index and resulted in a match to Reed, according to the sheriff’s office.
The department then obtained a search warrant and got another DNA sample from Reed, who already was incarcerated at the Knox County Jail on an unrelated matter, according to an affidavit filed by Detective Justin Twitchell in court. That new sample also was a match.
Reed was interviewed and admitted to breaking into the home and stealing the items, according to police. The clock and canoe were recovered in the woods.
The suspect told police that he had returned to the home after the burglary and was planning to use bleach to clean up the blood but the house had been boarded up and he could not get in, according to the affidavit.