FRIENDSHIP, Maine — A local man was sentenced Thursday to 44 months in prison for a home burglary that was traced back to him through blood left at the scene.
Barry Reed, 35, had 44 months of his probation on a prior sex offense conviction revoked. The judge in Rockland Unified Court imposed a concurrent 36 month sentence for the burglary that occurred in May 2015 in Friendship.
The victims in the crime attended the hearing and addressed the judge, telling him that among the items stolen and never recovered were an antique grandfather clock that had been in the family for generations.
While investigating the crime, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office found 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.
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.
Reed told police 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 by then and he could not get in, according to an affidavit filed by police at the time of his arrest.
Reed has been at the Knox County Jail for 10 months since his arrest and will be given credit for time served. He was given an additional 48 hours in jail for incidents at the jail, including disorderly conduct.
Reed was sentenced to nine months in jail in 2013 for sexually abusing a minor two years earlier.