Jackson police: DNA links man to burglary

A Jackson man faces a felony charge after DNA evidence linked him to a burglary in his apartment building, police said.

Travis L. Burke, 30, of 224 Meier Lake Drive in Jackson, is charged with burglarizing an apartment at 1101 K-Land Drive in Jackson. The burglary took place Nov. 24, and Burke lived in the building at the time.

Burke, who posted a $5,000 bond, is scheduled for arraignment Sept. 15 in associate circuit court in Jackson.

Burke also faces a misdemeanor theft charge for stealing money during the break-in.

Investigators found blood on a notebook and on a curtain in the apartment after it was burglarized, according to a probable-cause statement from Jackson police Sgt. Scott Eakers. The curtain was near the spot where the break-in took place, Eakers wrote.

After investigators learned that Burke was the only resident of the apartment building who did not go to work that day, Eakers wrote, they obtained a search warrant for his apartment.

Inside, there were numerous items with blood on them, including $36 in cash in a bedroom drawer, Eakers wrote.

Burke was arrested but then released, the statement said. The next day at the Jackson police headquarters, Burke volunteered to give a DNA sample for comparison with the blood.

The report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol lab showed that the sample from Burke matched the blood at the scene.

Burke faces up to seven years in prison for the burglary charge and an additional year for the theft charge.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126