Patience, time and DNA help police to nap local mini-market robber

On October 3, 2013 at 9 p.m. Lemoore police officers responded to the Valero Mini Mart on Fox Street in Lemoore following the report of an armed robbery. When officers arrived at the scene the suspect had already fled the area, taking an undisclosed amount of money with him.

The suspect was described as a white or Hispanic male, 20-25 years old, wearing all black clothing. During the initial investigation, officers located a black t-shirt and a "Taurus" style air pistol in a dumpster less than a block away from the mini-market.

The t-shirt and air pistol were sent to the Fresno Department of Justice crime lab to see if any DNA evidence could be recovered.

In November, 2015 the Fresno Department of Justice crime lab notified the Lemoore Police Department that the DNA of Nicholas Antonio Cuenca, a 26-year-old resident of Lemoore, was recovered from the evidence submitted back in 2013.

The Lemoore Police Department detectives then reopened the case, reviewing store surveillance video and tracking down potential witnesses.

In December 2015 - and at the completion of their investigation - a search warrant was granted to allow Lemoore detectives to obtain a buccal/oral swab from Cuenca. The buccal/oral swab was obtained from Cuenca and sent to the Fresno Department of Justice crime lab for comparison with the evidence submitted two years prior.

On January 25 the Fresno Department of Justice crime lab confirmed that Cuenca’s DNA sample submitted by Lemoore detectives matched the DNA that had been recovered from the evidence, and on January 27 Lemoore patrol officers contacted Cuenca in Lemoore and he was taken into custody. Cuenca was booked into the Kings County Jail for one count of armed robbery. His bail was set at $60,000.