A bungling phone snatcher caught out by his DNA on his lost shoe has admitted theft. Spencer Duarte, 28, of Saffron Walden, was tackled off his e-bike by members of the public after he stole a phone from a victim’s hand in Ludgate Hill in the City of London at midday on August 7 last year.
His trainer came off in the ensuing struggle and he was captured on CCTV wearing one shoe after he managed to get away. Police sent the shoe for DNA analysis and found his profile on the national database.
He was spotted and arrested by Metropolitan Police officers on September 9. Duarte appeared at Inner London Crown on Monday where he admitted one count of theft. He will be sentenced on September 12.
Physical forensics manager Andrew Walker, of the City of London Police, said: “We were able to get sufficient levels of DNA from the shoe to obtain a single, major profile that was suitable for searching against the national DNA database.
“This search generated a ‘hit’ to a male whose profile had previously been uploaded. The slipper fitted our Cinderella and we were able to bring him before the courts.”
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