Jewel Thief Busted by Empty Coke Can: Cops

A burglary suspect might have gotten away with it if he had just waited until he left the crime scene to quench his thirst. Instead, police say suspect Ramon Herrera helped himself to a can of Coke from the refrigerator of the Albuquerque, NM, home he allegedly broke into and then left the can behind—meaning he also left behind valuable DNA evidence, KOAT reports. When the homeowners came back from vacation, they found a smashed back door, $250,000 worth of jewels gone, and a sweatshirt and footprints outside. On the kitchen table was an empty Coke can with a note leaning against it that said "Sorry," the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Cops were able to swab down both the Coke can and a flashlight ostensibly left behind by the suspect—and the DNA retrieved from their efforts matched Herrera's. Not helping his case is the fact that Herrera was reportedly seen nine times selling jewelry at local pawn shops after the burglary, which happened last month. Herrera, now in county jail on residential burglary and larceny charges, allegedly made one other weird move before leaving: He went to the bathroom and didn't flush, police say. However, "(the detective) failed to collect any samples from the used toilet," according to the official criminal complaint. (A Minnesota man reportedly took a burglary break to log in to Facebook.)