FORENSICS 153: MITTS
This essay might be of special interest to writers of detective and mystery stories who would like to enrich their stories by providing their readers with a gift of some extra details. It might also be of general interest to many other readers.
Devin had been observing the couple for some time–long enough to confirm that they played bridge with another couple at each other’s homes on alternate Tuesday evenings. On this particular Tuesday, the Engels were hosting the Brents. That would provide Devin with more than enough time.
Devin had recently come from his job as an auto mechanic and was wearing black jeans, a black jacket and a light pair of black leather work gloves. His ensemble enabled him to meld into the darkness between two large shrubs that framed a door at the rear of the Brents’ home.
The door had a common cylinder lock that barred easy access to the house. Devin took a small, leather case from his pocket, unzipped it and removed two simple tools. One was a set and the other was a rake. The set was, a slender bar bent at one end to give it an “L” shape. The rake was a thin bar having a small bump extending at right angles from it at one end. Devin inserted the bent end of the set into the key slot in the cylinder of the lock and twisted it clockwise just enough to apply a bit of torque to the cylinder within its housing. He then inserted the rake, forced the bump end upwardly and pulled it back out so that its bump sequentially forced each of a number of spring-loaded pins extending downwardly from the lock housing to move upwardly. Each raised pin was held in its upward position by the torque applied to the cylinder by the set. After all the pins had been raised, the cylinder and a cam attached to it were allowed to rotate within the housing. Rotation of the cam resulted in the withdrawal of a locking bolt into the lock housing, freeing the door to be swung open. The operation took Devin less time than it takes to read this paragraph.
Devin moved swiftly into the house, up stairs to a second floor and into what appeared to be a master bedroom. With a carefully directed light of a small flashlight, he found an expensive-looking jewelry box in a bottom drawer of a dresser. It was locked, and he left it on top of the dresser to be opened later. In another room, he disconnected and picked up a computer.
At this point, Devin was startled by nearby sounds of voices and closing car doors. Neighbors in a next-door house were apparently receiving visitors. As more visitors began arriving, Devin abandoned the computer and jewelry box as being too large to conceal on his person and quietly slipped out of the Brent house. He had parked his car several blocks away, and he walked as casually as he could toward it while the neighbors were busy greeting newcomers.
Devin’s apprehension was just beginning to ease as he neared his car, but it snapped back in full force when a police cruiser made a quick stop beside him. He was targeted by a beam from a flashlight and was told to stop and warm his hands atop the cruiser’s hood. Two good-sized officers emerged from the car, and one examined the contents of Devin’s pockets. They inquired of him his name and why he had been observed leaving the Brent property. Devin said he had just been taking a walk and denied having been inside the house. He was glad he had worn gloves and had not had time to take anything from the house. The police officers told him that he fit the general descriptions of a person that had been seen near the locations of several burglaries in the neighborhood, and they invited him to accompany them downtown to continue their conversation.
The Brents were subsequently contacted and asked to check their home for missing items. They reported that nothing was missing, but that a jewelry box and a computer had been displaced. Crime scene investigators found glove prints left by grease and dirt on Devin’s gloves where he had left them on the two displaced items. They also discovered a fabric print on a counter upon which Devin had apparently sat while disconnecting the computer. A forensic analyst compared patterns of the gloves worn by Devin when he had been confronted by the police to those found on the jewelry box and the computer. They matched. The analyst also compared the pattern of the fabric print found on the counter to the fabric pattern of Devin’s jeans. They also matched.
During a subsequent trial, Devin’s defense attorney tried every tactic he knew to convince the jury that his client was not guilty. Due to the evidence presented, however, the jury was not at all moved to do so. Having won the case, the prosecuting attorney went home happy. Having closed all the cases involving Devin’s previous burglaries, the police went home happy. Having had a criminal removed from the streets, local citizens went home happy. Having society provide Devin with a new home made everybody happy . . . except one.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Many mistakenly believe that wearing gloves while committing a crime will prevent leaving impressions at a crime scene that can be used to identify and convict them of the crime. Actually, fingers are not the only things that can leave prints.
Surgical gloves were developed to prevent bacteria and such from passing through them. To enable doctors to handle instruments of their trade with precision, they were made to fit tightly–so
tightly that fingerprints can sometimes be transferred through them. Fingerprints can also sometimes be found on inside surfaces after turning surgical gloves, and some leather gloves, inside out.
Dirt, oils, grease, blood and such materials adhere to and/or permeate leather and cloth gloves as they are being worn. The patterns and seams of the fabrics of cloth gloves differ depending on their manufacturers. Their surfaces are also modified as they are recontoured, folded, creased, stretched, cut and torn during wear. The surfaces of leather gloves suffer the same modifications. Having originally served as the hides of living animals, the textures of leather differ from one animal to another. The foregoing factors make it possible to match a glove with its print. As mentioned in Devin’s story, clothing fabric can also leave identifying prints on surfaces upon which someone sits or even upon which someone leans.
Those readers interested in fingerprinting might find two of my previous essays of interest. They can be found in the STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED archives. LASTING IMPRESSIONS was published on December 19, 2007; and THE CREATURE was published on January 19, 2008.
Note that, due to concerns voiced by latent print examiners, the term “DNA fingerprinting.” is reportedly no longer deemed acceptable.