Katie’s Law Credited with Speedy Identification of Attacker through DNA Match
Francisco Perez, 27
By Officer Tasia Martinez
APD Sex Crimes Unit arrested a man in connection with a November attack of a 76-year-old woman.
Francisco Perez, 27, was arrested and booked yesterday on a District Court Warrant, just hours after a after DNA confirmed he was the suspected attacker.
The arrest of Perez fell on the same day that President Barack Obama signed Katie’s Law into effect nationwide, promoting DNA collection programs through incentives for every state in the country. Thanks to Katie’s Law, Perez’s DNA was collected when he was arrested on commercial burglary charges. The DNA collected at the scene of the attack was then matched to Perez through the National Combined DNA Index System. Within hours of receiving confirmation of the DNA match on Thursday, Detectives obtained a signed arrest warrant and arrested Perez.
The New Mexico Probation and Parole Office has been monitoring Perez who was on probation from the commercial burglary charge. The probation office assisted APD in locating and apprehending Perez swiftly and without incident.
Perez is being held without bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center and is facing multiple felony charges including criminal sexual penetration, robbery and kidnapping in connection with the Nov. 22 attack.
Sex Crimes detectives have worked vigilantly to solve this case and credit the APD Crime Lab for their work in finding the DNA match.
Detectives worked closely with the victim of attack, who was able to positively identify Perez when presented a photo lineup. The victim has expressed her relief and gratitude for the quick and effective work of APD Sex Crimes Detectives and the Crime Lab DNA Analysis Specialists.
