Blood left behind on DeLand ATM helps crack burglary ring

DNA led to match after $14,000 heist

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – When two burglars broke into a DeLand internet gaming cafe in June, detectives - not the burglars - hit the jackpot.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office detectives had been searching for the suspected crooks for months.

Thieves had burglarized several businesses in Volusia County in a similar manner but detectives couldn't identify any of them until the Winner's Circle break-in on State Road 15A in DeLand in June.

When Detective Ben Gordon and Lt. Justin Sawicki examined the broken window at the front of the gaming cafe, they noticed small drops of blood.

They discovered more drops on the carpet inside the business and on the inside of the ATM that had been open with power tools.

The mangled ATM was missing $14,000 in cash.

"It appears one of the subjects got cut during the burglary," Gordon said. 

Gordon sent samples of the blood to the state crime lab for analysis.

Months later, the lab confirmed that all of the blood came from the same person. 

"The blood is perfect, obviously you can't dispute blood," Gordon said. "Obviously you have people who close the business, they gave us a sworn statement, 'That's not any of our employees, not anyone that works here,' that [blood] was obviously left during the commission of the crime."

Better yet, the DNA obtained from the sample of blood matched a DNA sample on file.

"That's a huge clue and valuable evidence that assisted us in the investigation," Gordon said. 

Detectives said the DNA belonged to Anthony Kimbell, of Davenport.

They said they identified a second suspect, Mackenzie Jones, also of Davenport, through a fingerprint left behind on the glass door of the cafe.

Both were arrested in Polk County.

Detectives said they're now comparing evidence with the other three similar burglaries to try to link the pair to those break-ins.


About the Author:

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.

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