CSI: La Plata? State makes case on DNA in spit

Robbery suspect allegedly left saliva on getaway minivan

Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

As the trial of the 27-year-old Hyattsville man opened, Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Blayne G. Miley told the jury DNA evidence from a large streak of saliva was enough to convict Goolsby in a May 7 bank robbery in Waldorf.

Miley gave his outline of the bank robbery’s events for jurors, saying three men in dark clothes entered the Wachovia bank in Waldorf at about 9 a.m., fired a warning shot and ordered everyone to lie down on the floor.

He said one of the men stood lookout at the door, while another jumped the teller counter and stuffed money into a trash bag. The third yelled for a manager, firing a second shot when no one responded. When the manager identified herself, the third man ordered her to open the door that led to the bank vaults.

The operation was interrupted when a prospective Wachovia customer opened the front door, saw what was happening and fled.

The three robbers ran outside, hopped in a blue minivan and drove off carrying the stolen money, according to Miley.

Little did they know their garbage bag was carrying more than just cash.

An explosive pack containing a dye laced with pepper spray was tucked inside one of the stacks of bills, and it was set to detonate within 10 seconds of leaving the bank, a security systems company executive testified.

When police later found the van, which was abandoned but still running, they discovered a stream of spit running down the outside and inside of the passenger door.

The DNA from the saliva was a match for Goolsby’s, which investigators found in a federal database.

‘‘[The saliva] is there, because he robbed the bank. He may have gotten away, but he left the evidence,” Miley said.

Defense attorney William Renehan responded by saying the state’s evidence was the stuff of TV crime drama.

‘‘Wow! That was CSI Miami,” Renehan said. ‘‘But this is not Miami, it’s La Plata.”

Renehan pointed out that the passenger side window was found down, and said just because Goolsby discharged the incriminating spit didn’t mean he was a thief.

‘‘Maybe he just walked by and spit,” Renehan said. ‘‘No one from the bank is going to take the stand and say, ‘I saw that man in the bank.’ The only evidence you have is saliva. ... He’s not charged with spitting in public.”

Renehan also argues that the DNA sample may have degraded or been contaminated.

Most of the witnesses from the holdup said during the trial the robbers were wearing masks and dark clothing. None of them could identify Goolsby in court as one of the three men they had seen.

According to charging documents, the robbers dumped the money in the parking lot after the dye pack exploded in the van, which had been reported stolen the night before, police said.

Goolsby is charged with 41 counts of handgun, armed robbery, assault and false imprisonment offenses in connection with the robbery. The trial was set to continue Thursday.