Orange County DNA program leads to arrest of serial thief in Garden Grove

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities arrested a serial thief with the help of blood evidence and the DNA program at the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

David Navor Andrade, 26, of Garden Grove, was arrested Wednesday after blood found at a crime scene was connected to him.

Authorities said in 2014, Andrade pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for possession of an unlawful substance and provided a DNA sample to the OCDA Local DNA Database as a condition of his sentence.

Around 4:45 a.m. on Dec. 6, Andrade is suspected of shattering a glass front door of a commercial business in Garden Grove. He is also suspected of stealing $220 cash, four external hard drives and a box of checks from the business.

That morning after the owner called police, a blood sample was found near the shards of broken glass. On Dec. 18, the samples were sent to the D.A.'s office and Andrade matched those samples.

Authorities then arrested Andrade on Wednesday at the North Justice Center in Fullerton following a court appearance he had for a misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance case.

Andrade is accused of possessing stolen property that includes a passport, multiple ID cards, check stubs and an opened package containing two Louis Vuitton handbags at his home.

He faces felony charges of second-degree commercial burglary and forgery; misdemeanor charges of identity theft, mail theft and recovering stolen property; and special enhancements of two crime-bail-crimes and prior conviction for unlawfully taking a car in 2016 in Orange County.

If convicted on all counts, Andrade faces a minimum of nine years and four months in prison.