DNA evidence helps Leechburg police bring charges in 4-year-old burglary - TribLIVE

DNA evidence helped police identify a man who they said burglarized a Leechburg home nearly four years ago, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.

Derek Justin Hare, 32, of Vandergrift is accused of breaking into his former employer’s Spring Street home and taking $100 on Sept. 2, 2016. The complaint was filed Thursday.

Leechburg police Chief Jason Schaeffer got a search warrant to collect Hare’s DNA in June and obtained a DNA sample last month. Testing at the Pennsylvania State Police Regional Laboratory in Greensburg found Hare’s DNA matched blood that had been left at the crime scene, according to the complaint.

Schaeffer said it took a while to file charges against Hare because processing DNA takes time and there’s only one crime lab in the area.

“It doesn’t matter how old they are, I keep them open. I just keep working it until I have nothing more to work or I solve it,” Schaeffer said.

Leechburg police were first notified of the burglary Sept. 4, 2016, when the victim went to the station to report it.

The victim told police he had left home for a few days. When he came back, he saw a window had been broken out and a desk had been moved. Books that had been on top of the desk were thrown on the floor.

Schaeffer went to the home, where he observed broken glass on the inside and outside of the house, as well as two bricks lying beneath the window. The homeowner told Schaeffer the bricks were normally stacked in the corner of the porch.

Schaeffer also found blood on a doorway, which was sent to the crime lab to be analyzed. In June of this year, crime lab investigators told Schaeffer that Hare couldn’t be eliminated as a suspect based on DNA data that had previously been collected from Hare, who is a convicted felon.

Hare agreed to meet with Schaeffer after Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton requested a search warrant for his DNA. Charlton said prosecution of the case falls within the state’s statute of limitations because it is less than five years old.

“Per law, the statute of limitations for burglary, as with many serious felony offenses such as rape and aggravated assault, is five years,” Charlton said in an emailed statement. “In addition, the law also provides that if evidence of a felony offense is obtained using DNA which is subsequently used to identify an otherwise unidentified individual as the perpetrator of the offense, then the statute of limitations is five years or one year after the identity of the individual is determined.”

During a July interview, Hare told Schaeffer he used a brick to smash out a window at the home because he “could not get in any other way,” the complaint said. Hare allegedly told Schaeffer he had gone into the house to use the bathroom, but once he was inside he realized he needed money.

When the chief asked Hare if he took $100 from the house, Hare replied, “I probably took less than that,” according to the complaint.

Hare then changed his statement to say he was intoxicated and couldn’t remember what happened, according to the complaint. Hare reiterated that he went into the house only to use the bathroom.

Schaeffer said Hare had been doing masonry work for the victim at the time of the burglary, and that Hare knew there was money in the home.

The crime lab confirmed the DNA obtained from Hare in July matched the blood found at the crime scene, the complaint said.

The police department has used DNA evidence to solve crimes before, including the theft of almost $1,400 from First Commonwealth Bank.

Schaeffer said each case is important, regardless of how much is stolen.

“A crime is a crime. It doesn’t matter how big or how small it is. You still have a victim of that crime. The victim is entitled to the same thing that anybody else would be,” Schaeffer said.

Hare remained in Armstrong County Jail on Monday after failing to post $25,000 bond, according to online court records. He is charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, theft and receiving stolen property. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 19 before District Judge James Andring in Leechburg. Court records do not list an attorney for Hare.

Madasyn Lee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Madasyn at 724-226-4702, mlee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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