Sacramento Police Solve Cold Case Using DNA

(CBS 13) SACRAMENTO It's like something out of an episode of CSI. Sacramento Police have solved a 3-year-old cold case using DNA.

Detective Avis Beery of the Sacramento Police Department announced police had partially closed a cold case after a three-year search. On Thursday, police arrested 22-year-old Vernon Lee Belton after DNA evidence linked him to the robbery and rape of a 22-year-old North Sacramento woman at this apartment complex. Belton is one of three wanted for the crime. The other two are still at large. Beery says Belton's DNA was matched after he was arrested for a different crime last year.

Jeff Herbort is one of the lab technicians who helped solve the case. He says he and his staff take satisfaction every time one is solved. He says his lab has solved over 200 cases since 2001 and he expects that number to only get higher.

According to the Sacramento County crime lab, DNA evidence is now also being used to solve lesser crimes. Under current law, anyone convicted of a felony is required to give a blood sample so that their DNA will be on file.