Gum-chewing burglar comes unstuck 12 years after crime (From Watford Observer)
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Gum-chewing burglar comes unstuck 12 years after crime
1:52pm Tuesday 17th November 2009 in News
A gum-chewing burglar has come unstuck 12 years after he stole jewellery and electrical goods from a house in Dunstable.
Robert Aldrich, of Langley Road, Watford, was finally caught after police identified DNA on a piece of chewing gum he had discarded at the scene.
Aldrich, 46, had been chewing the gum during the burglary in August 1997, but spat it into his victim’s kitchen sink as he left.
His DNA profile was kept on file by Bedfordshire Police and, thanks to advances in technology, successfully matched last year.
Aldrich was finally brought to justice at Luton Crown Court on Friday, where he was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence.
DC Lynn Adams, who led the investigation, said the case should serve as a warning to those who think they have got away with crimes.
She said: “Bedfordshire Police are using every tool at their disposal to fight burglary and this is another good example of how advances in forensic science can help us.”
Comments(5)
the main one
says...
3:34pm Tue 17 Nov 09
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Yet it only takes a matter of days to receive that speeding ticket!!!
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Time they looked at their priorities!!
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DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys. It was first used in forensic science to convict Colin Pitchfork in the 1988 Enderby murders case, 9 years before Robert Aldrich broke into that house.
reality-bites
says...
1:29pm Wed 18 Nov 09
A victory for the p.c. brigade this one, They must have been up in arms over the use of DNA.
But will be happy in the end as he has been let off!
Me, i feel sorry for the victims.....
the main one
says...
11:59am Fri 20 Nov 09
reality-bites wrote:Hey, reality-bites, you say you feel sorry for the victims, but why?
A victory for the p.c. brigade this one, They must have been up in arms over the use of DNA. But will be happy in the end as he has been let off! Me, i feel sorry for the victims.....
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Is it because they were burgled in the first place, or it is because they got reminded about it 12 years later due to police inabilities to do their job efficiently?
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It really is a joke, my experience with the police is that none of them seem to understand true situations and believe everything to be as they think which is generally more serious than the reality, thus leading to more convictions and an increased chance of their promotion in rank. For example, A drunk breaking a shop window isn't classed as 'damage caused due to being drunk and disorderly', but is classed as 'criminal damage' which no regard to the drunk's state of mind. A court can order that the drunk pays for the window when he appears on a 'drunk and disorderly' charge, but the charge of 'criminal damage' could lead to a prison sentence and the public picking up the cost of that window through our taxes etc... Therefore, surely the police should think about that, I mean they are supposed to serve the public, aren't they?
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Of course, the CPS need to look at this too!!
John Howard Norfolk
says...
4:14pm Sun 22 Nov 09
He was charged in MARCH.
Appeared in court in OCTOBER
And only sentenced in NOVEMBER
There may indeed be a "long arm of the law" but sadly the "wheels of justice" turn too slowly.
Jocky says...
3:00pm Tue 17 Nov 09
Then he receives a suspended sentence ! defies belief.