A speck of DNA left on the torn tip of a latex glove led to home invasion charges against an Aurora man almost a year after the crime occurred.
Kane County prosecutors have charged Steve Simmons, 41, with being one of two men who allegedly broke into an Aurora home on Aug. 28, 2014 and robbed two people inside.
According to court records, it was around 4:02 a.m. when a woman called 911 from her home in the 800 block of Richard Street and reported that two men had forced their way inside.
The men allegedly demanded valuables from the woman and a man she was with inside the home. Police said a fight ensued between the three men. Both men who had broken into the house then ended up running out of the home.
Police said one of the men was bleeding, and one had left behind the fingertip of a latex glove that had been ripped during the fight. Police gathered the evidence and began their search for the suspects.
Near the scene, two men were spotted in a vehicle and matched the description of the men involved in the crime, police said. When police went to stop the car, the driver drove off, with police in pursuit.
By the time police were able to stop the car, there was only one man inside. That man, Earnest Jeffries, 40, 600 block of Liberty Street, was taken into custody on home invasion, armed robbery and fleeing/eluding charges.
Through their investigation, police learned that the second suspect could be a man named Steve Simmons. The evidence gathered at the scene was sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for testing. On June 8, it was determined that Simmons could be the contributor of DNA found on the tip of the torn latex glove. An additional swab containing Simmons’ DNA was ordered by a judge, and on Aug. 5, felony home invasion charges were approved against him.
Simmons is currently in custody at the Robinson Correctional Facility, where he is being held in connection with a different crime.