DNA brings down alleged burglar

Boulder County detectives have matched DNA from a glove found at a crime scene to a 52-year-old Colorado Springs man, allowing them to clear three residential burglaries and closing investigations on three others.

James Eugene Ross currently is in the Park County Jail being held on a warrant out of Adams County.

Boulder County Cmdr. Phil West reported that Ross was arrested by Adams County authorities on another burglary charge and is facing a return to the Colorado Department of Corrections.

He was on parole for burglary at the times the Boulder County crimes occurred in a two-week period in late February and early March at homes in Gunbarrel, Niwot and east of Boulder.

"His MO (method of operation) was the same in all of them," West said.

"They were daylight smash-and-grabs, or he’d enter through an open window, and take easily portable items such as cash, coins and jewelry. Because of the similar MOs, he’s also being looked at for similar crimes in Boulder and Longmont."

The glove that was found in a burglary was analyzed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation who compared it to a DNA sample Ross submitted in connection to a previous conviction.

The possibility of the glove belonging to anyone else is estimated at one in 200 billion, law enforcement officials said.