Police: DNA match leads to burglary arrest

A DNA match led to the arrest of a Hempstead man Thursday for three burglaries police said took place between September 2009 and September 2010.

Marvin Caswell, 27, of 244 Brown Ave., was charged with first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree criminal mischief.

He is scheduled for arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police said jewelry, cash, electronics and even a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun were take from the homes.

During the burglaries, police said Caswell left behind DNA evidence, but police declined to say what that evidence is -- or where it was discovered.

On Jan. 10, police said a search of the New York State DNA Index System resulted in a match with an offender number. It was not immediately clear when or how the DNA evidence on file had been obtained, though police said Caswell had been arrested in February 2011 by Hempstead Village police after he was seen attempting to break into four houses on Ingraham Street and Willow Avenue in Hempstead. The disposition of those charges also was not immediately clear Friday.