(KAIR)--Advancements in DNA testing are cited as the reason behind an arrest made in an Atchison burglary investigation that began more than two-years ago. “Technology at its best,” is how Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson describes it. He said the crime was committed in 2016, and the investigation has continued since that time. “We investigated a residential burglary in the 1100 block of North 5th that occurred on April 12, 2016. It has been an active investigation since that time. A 29-year-old had reported force entry into the residence. A safe containing a large amount of cash was taken, as well as electronic equipment.”

Wilson said evidence directly corresponding to the forced entry was collected, leading to testing, and ultimately to a suspect. “You always want to collect the evidence at the scene, not knowing exactly where that evidence may take you. In this case, forced entry was done by breaking a glass window, and on that glass window was blood because the suspect had injured themselves. We collected that blood, it was entered into a data base to be examined for DNA at a later point. In fact, we did examine it at that time, but made no comparison. Since that time, the suspect's DNA has been submitted based on other convictions, and we made a hit on the data base because of what we submitted two years ago.”

That hit led police to 24-year-old Atchison resident DeAndre J. Turner-Fults, who was arrested Monday. “It's a good illustration that a good crime scene at the time may pay off later, and evidence never goes away,” Wilson told MSC News.

Wilson said Turner-Fults was taken into custody on charges of burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property.

Following his arrest, Turner-Fults was booked into the Atchison County Jail,

He's held on a bond of $10,000.