Yuma County, Arizona.- On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at approximately 9:17 AM, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) received a report of a business burglary in the 8700 Block of E. South Frontage Road.
While processing the scene of the crime, the responding Deputy discovered a blood trail. The Deputy was able to take samples of the blood and submitted them into evidence for examination.
An Investigator with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office was able to input the blood samples into the RapidHIT Instrument. Within approximately 2 hours the Investigator had a name of the subject that left the blood.
On Thursday, January 19, 2023, the suspect, identified as Whitney Brooks, 34, of Yuma, AZ, was located and booked into the Yuma County Detention Center for Theft, Criminal Damage, Criminal Trespass, and 3rd Degree Burglary.
In May of 2022, The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office joined the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Rapid DNA Law Enforcement Program to get quicker information to use in local investigative cases. The RapidHIT ID instrument generates forensic DNA profiles in as little as 90 minutes with a simple cheek swab or evidence sample.
This is the first completed successful run on the RapidHIT Instrument for the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.
YCSO Investigators who have been certified to operate the equipment are using this Rapid DNA technology to link suspects with past crimes, collect and rapidly process crime scene samples for investigative leads, and have significantly reduced the time to identify or eliminate a potential suspect.
For more information on the Rapid DNA Law Enforcement Program, please visit: https://azdps.gov/crimelab [azdps.gov] and click on the link for Rapid DNA