Upper Dublin burglar left DNA behind, sent to prison
NORRISTOWN » An Upper Dublin burglar’s decision to try on a lacrosse helmet inside the sporting goods store he ransacked led to a DNA match, his conviction and a stint in state prison.
Robert D. Hudson, 41, of the 5000 block of Pennway Street, Philadelphia, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to one to five years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of burglary in connection with March 2013 break-ins at two businesses along Bethlehem Pike in Upper Dublin.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Hudson to pay a total of $10,136 in restitution to the two businesses, Lax Zone and Five Star Nail Salon.
An investigation began on March 6, 2013, when Upper Dublin police responded to the Lax Zone store located in the 1100 block of Bethlehem Pike for a report of a commercial burglary that occurred overnight. Arriving officers soon determined that an adjoining business, the Five Star Nail Salon, also was burglarized while the business was closed, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Dublin Detective Christian M. Fiedler.
Numerous items were found strewn throughout the businesses and the owners reported that various items, including electronics equipment and cash, were stolen during the burglaries that appeared to be committed by forced entry around 2:20 a.m., according to court papers.
Detectives obtained video surveillance recordings from the Lax Zone store. A male “whose face was visible was seen walking through the store and eventually putting on the dark colored lacrosse helmet,” Fiedler alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Detectives subsequently submitted the lacrosse helmet to the Pennsylvania State Police Bethlehem Regional Laboratory for DNA collection and analysis, according to the criminal complaint. The chin pad and straps of the helmet and the padding around the ears and cheek area of the helmet were swabbed for potential DNA, detectives said.
In April 2019, state police issued a report and the DNA analysis led detectives to develop Hudson as a suspect and authorities obtained a warrant to take a DNA reference sample from the inside of Hudson’s cheek for comparison, according to the criminal complaint.
The DNA profile obtained from Hudson’s known reference sample matched the DNA profile obtained from the swab of the chin pad and straps, the swab from the ear and cheek pads and a cutting from the forehead foam of the lacrosse helmet, detectives alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Other charges of theft by unlawful taking, criminal trespass and criminal mischief were dismissed against Hudson as part of the plea agreement.
The DNA profile obtained from Hudson’s known reference sample matched the DNA profile obtained from the swab of the chin pad and straps, the swab from the ear and cheek pads and a cutting from the forehead foam of the lacrosse helmet, detectives alleged in the arrest affidavit.