Traces of DNA left on a doorbell was the evidence deputies used to charge a burglary suspect who five months ago scurried from an attempted home invasion as the 81-year-old resident squeezed off a few rounds from his pistol, detectives said.
The Oct. 9, 2017, burglary at 662 Old Mission Road near New Smyrna Beach was interrupted when the resident of the home near New Smyrna Beach fired several shots after hearing someone break through a living-room window, Volusia County sheriff's spokesman Andrew Gant said.
Deputies charged Jason Braun, 41, of Edgewater, who was already in custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail in an unrelated robbery case. He was charged with one count of burglary of an occupied dwelling, which added another $25,000 to his bail amount that already exceeded $150,000, according to jail records.
"This case is just further proof that our detectives never give up on a case and they'll do whatever it takes to track down and arrest anyone responsible for crime in our county," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Friday. "Jason Braun picked the wrong house that day. He's lucky he wasn't shot. I hope this was a wake-up call for him and all the other burglars out there who want to test their luck in Volusia County."
Detectives said the suspect had come to the front door and rang the doorbell.
When there was no answer, he put on a pair of gloves, walked to another part of the house and broke a window. He was reaching through the window to clear away the broken glass when the homeowner fired his .22-caliber pistol at him three or four times, deputies said.
The suspect ran to his truck and sped away while the homeowner fired a few more rounds at him, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The doorbell was swabbed and the DNA sample that was collected was sent to a lab for analysis, Gant said.
The public was notified by the Sheriff's Office that the suspect escaped in a white Chevrolet Silverado.
On Monday, deputies learned the DNA matched Braun.
The suspect's original arrest was related to the Oct. 5, 2017 armed robbery of a Checkers restaurant in Daytona Beach. In that case, Braun used a gun, deputies said.
Braun rolled up to the drive-thru window and ordered an employee to give him all the money out of the register, Daytona Beach police said. The employee ran to the back of the store and told a fellow employee to call 9-1-1. Meanwhile, the suspect reached into the window, grabbed cash out of the register drawer and then sped away, police said.
An arrest affidavit shows that Braun became the lead suspect in that robbery after his then-girlfriend turned him in.
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