DNA identifies burglar

(Compiled from a report by Brewster Police Chief Nattalie Cariker)

BREWSTER – It’s not easy to catch a graffiti artist in the act of malicious mischief, so it’s always helpful when the offender is liberal enough with his supply of spray paint to apply some to his person while in the process of creating a public masterpiece.

That’s the scenario that helped Brewster Police Officer Michael Robbins identify and arrest a suspect on April 2 who fled the scene when a citizen spotted and reported the graffiti-in-progress on a city park bathroom.

A tall male juvenile, a Brewster resident, was observed applying black spray paint to the bathroom wall and when yelled at by an alert citizen, fled in a vehicle with a second male.

“The reporting party recognized the vehicle and advised police the name of the tall male who was associated with the vehicle,” the police department report said. “A short time later Officer Robbins contacted the juvenile on foot.”

The juvenile’s clothing matched the description given to Robbins, but the real give-away was the black spray paint on the suspect’s hands that bore a striking resemblance to the black paint on the bathroom wall.

“The juvenile was arrested for malicious mischief in the third degree and booked into Okanogan County Juvenile Detention,” the police department  report said.

The Brewster Police Department  received another complaint of graffiti on a building near the park with the tag “XIV FLS” for Norte 14 gang sprayed in black paint.

“The complaint was forwarded to the Okanogan County Prosecutor’s Office for review of charges against the same juvenile,” said the police department report. “The police department greatly appreciates the partnership with the community to make an arrest on gang graffiti.”
Burglar arrested

DNA left by a burglary suspect left at Apple Valley Wireless at West Main Street last September 13, led to the arrest of a 20-year-old Brewster man.

Brewster Police Lieutenant Kelly Hook investigated the complaint, obtained DNA evidence at the scene and forwarded his findings to the Washington State Crime Laboratory for processing. The Crime Lab results returned on March 25 showed that the DNA matched that of Omar Nila-Aparicio who was arrested and booked into Okanogan County Jail for burglary, malicious mischief, and theft.