Inmates to be charged for 2004 burglary after DNA match

Sheboygan police have cracked two 2004 burglary cases after evidence submitted to the backlogged state crime lab was finally returned early this year, according to a press release issued late Thursday.

A cigarette butt and blood evidence collected after separate burglaries in the 1300 block of Lenz Court in October 2004 have been matched to two men already in prison, Detective Matt Walsh said in the release.

A 44-year-old inmate at the Redgranite Correctional Institution matched DNA on the cigarette, and a 27-year-old Green Bay Correctional Institution inmate's DNA matched the blood, Walsh said. Both men have been referred to the Sheboygan County District Attorney's office for charges.

Police now say the Redgranite inmate burglarized the north-side home alone once and with the Green Bay inmate the next day. At the time, the men were housed in a transitional living facility under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections, Walsh said.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who took office last month, has said the crime lab he inherited from former AG Peg Lautenschlager has 1,700 cases pending, which would take more than 20 months to clear even if no new cases were submitted.