DNA points to suspect in Walgreens ATM theft

Four months after a daring ATM theft, one man is in custody thanks to DNA evidence police say he left at the scene.

During the early morning hours of Oct. 8, three masked men rammed a stolen pickup truck through the glass entrance of the Walgreens at the corner of FM 518 and FM 528.

They lifted an ATM from the scene into the back of the truck and drove to nearby Old City Park. There, police say they moved the ATM to another vehicle and left the stolen truck in the park.

DNA evidence recovered from one of the crime scenes was submitted to a private laboratory for analysis and later identified as belonging to Scott Lance Bennett, 26, of Houston.

Police officials bypassed the state laboratory, which can take up to a year to process DNA results.

The results were placed into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. Armed with the results and the surveillance video obtained from Walgreens, an arrest warrant was issued for Bennett.

Bennettj’s DNA was on file because he had served a six-month jail sentence with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

He was arrested by Houston police in the 7600 block of Curry in northeast Houston at approximately 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 and turned over to Friendswood police.

Bennett has been charged with felony theft. His bond is set at $20,000.