Spit Swab from Iced Tea Bottle Leads to Alleged Burglar’s Arrest

A DNA test has led to the arrest of a 21-year-old Mahwah man who allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of cash and merchandise from several cars parked around residential neighborhoods in the Cragmere section of Mahwah last Spring, police said Thursday.

Last May, police investigated the reported burglaries of cash, GPS devices, purses, jewelry, wallets, sunglasses, phone charges, credit cards and drivers licenses from cars parked near Cragmere homes, Police Chief Jim Batelli said Thursday. The cars were parked both in the streets outside the homes and in driveways, and were likely left unlocked, police said.

In two of the burglarized cars, police recovered glass bottles of iced tea that the car owners said did not belong to them, Batelli said.

The bottles were delivered to the New Jersey State Police laboratory where they were tested for DNA evidence, he said.

On the night of two of the burglaries, Mahwah Police Officer Chris Fasulo noticed a man walking in the neighborhood carrying some of the stolen items, Batelli said.

“At the time, the thefts had not [yet] been reported and Fasulo was unaware they had occurred,” Batelli said. Once the burglary was reported, Fasulo questioned the man, identified as Wendall S. Hammond, 21, Batelli said. But, Hammond was “uncooperative and retained legal counsel,” he said.

Police obtained a warrant to take a buccal swab from Hammond’s cheek, which was sent to the NJSP lab and compared to the DNA from the iced tea bottles, cops said. The samples were a match, police said.

Hammond was arrested this week and charged with 19 counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, 15 counts of theft and three counts of credit card theft, Batelli said. The complaints, some of which are indictable, have been forwarded to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Batelli said.

Officer Michael Grassi assisted Fasulo in the investigation and Hammond’s arrest.

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