LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Deputies in Jackson County, Indiana, used DNA evidence from a water bottle to arrest a man accused of stealing a box truck.
Bobby Hollin, 38, was arrested six months after investigators said he committed auto theft at Speedy Shred in Seymour.
In June, deputies saw Hollin walking near an abandoned stolen truck. When they questioned him, he said he didn't know anything about the truck.
Sheriff Rick Meyer said a deputy asked Hollin to give a DNA sample, and Hollin declined. That's when the deputy offered Hollin a water bottle, which Hollin accepted.
"The suspect took a few drinks. The deputy was clever enough to ask for the water back, and the guy handed him the water back, so he used that as DNA evidence," Meyer said.
Other deputies swabbed for DNA on the truck's shift handle. Authorities sent the evidence to the Indiana State Police crime lab. In late December, Jackson County Sheriff's Office was notified that the DNA matched Hollin's, Meyer said.
"Every felon that's arrested in Indiana, their DNA evidence is collected from them, so a lot of crimes are getting matched together," Meyer said. "It may take, like this one, just a few months, or it could be two or three years down the line."
Hollin was taken to Jackson County Jail, where he was being held without bond.
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