NC surpasses 100 arrests with DNA database hits

Attorney General Josh Stein announced earlier this month that North Carolina’s law enforcement agencies have reported making 102 arrests related to at least 175 crimes by testing evidence in cases with a sexual offense and receiving hits from DNA samples the North Carolina State Crime Lab submitted to CODIS.

CODIS is the system of local, state, and national criminal justice DNA databases and under the Survivor Act, law enforcement agencies are required to report to the State Crime Lab when they make an arrest because of a CODIS hit. Nearly 85 percent of the arrests have been made since 2017.

“Testing DNA solves crimes, gives victims and survivors their day in court, and gets dangerous criminals off our streets,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m grateful to the scientists at the State Crime Lab and our law enforcement partners throughout the state for their commit- ment to using science to solve crimes. Every one of these arrests makes our communities safer.” Law enforcement in North Carolina have made arrests related to attempted murder, rape, kidnapping, statutory rape of a child, sex offenses, and crimes against children, among others. Of the 102 arrests, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was responsible for 24, the Durham Police Department was responsible for 14, and the Fayetteville Police Department was responsible for 12.

NC Attorney General Josh Stein

• The Fayetteville Police Department arrested a man for robbery in 2019. When his DNA was collected upon arrest, he was charged with and eventually pleaded guilty to nine counts of rape, 15 counts of sexual offense, and other charges related charges dating back to 2009.

These arrests are from both cold cases and more recent offenses. Among them:

•The Wilmington Police Department charged a man in 2020 with first-degree kidnapping, rape, and sexual offense in a 1995 rape.

• The Durham Police Department arrested a man in 2022 for a 17-year-old rape, burglary, and kidnapping.

• The Wilson Police Department and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office charged a man in 2022 for two rapes that occurred in 1997 and 2002.