DNA Leads Riverside Cops To Burglary Arrest: Police

La Grange IL

04 March, 2021

2:06 PM

Description

RIVERSIDE, IL — Through DNA evidence, Riverside police found the man they believe tried to steal an ATM that was bolted to the floor at a gas station, according to a police news release. Demuiro D. Williams, 28, of Chicago, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of felony burglary. He is accused of the burglary at the Citgo gas station at Longcommon Road and Harlem Avenue early the morning of Nov. 28, 2019. The burglary was the third in a matter of weeks at Citgo. It was also part of a series of ATM thefts that had been occurring in late 2019 in Chicago and the west suburbs, police said. After the third burglary at Citgo, an evidence technician found blood from inside the ATM, which was damaged during the burglary, the police report said. In March 2020, state police told Riverside police that they found a DNA match to Williams with the blood sample. Riverside detectives worked for nearly a year after receiving the DNA match to collect more evidence, conduct more interviews and try to find Williams. "The use of technology combined with effective investigative tools and evidence collection helped to identify Mr. Williams as the suspect in this burglary," Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in the release. He said Williams was one of two people who burglarized Citgo on Nov. 29, 2019. Police are trying to identify the second person. "We will also be contacting several other jurisdictions, including Chicago Police, and sharing this arrest information as it is likely that he is involved in numerous other ATM burglaries throughout Cook County," Weitzel said. Riverside police are also working on linking Williams to the other two ATM burglaries at the same gas station, according to the release. Williams, a documented street gang member, has a criminal history that includes drugs, theft, weapons offenses and stolen vehicles, police said.