PHOENIX — Phoenix Police have arrested Martine Garcia, 66, in connection with two violent sexual assaults that went unsolved for decades.
Garcia is accused in a pair of assaults, one at 24th Street and Van Buren in 1997, and another at 11th Avenue and Grand in 2001. In both cases, women were allegedly kidnapped off Phoenix streets, blindfolded in a truck, and assaulted.
DNA samples were collected from both crime scenes at the time, and investigators worked to connect the two cases.
"We found a DNA match by case to case base meaning that both of these cases had the same DNA for the same suspect," Phoenix PD Sgt. Sheree Lee said.
Years passed without a suspect.
"At this point we've probably tested most of DNA in these types of cases and we're just waiting for a match," Lee said.
Last year, a new entry in the DNA database led investigators to a potential familial match leading police to one of Garcia's family members, who was too young to have committed the crimes dating back to the 1990s. Investigators then turned their attention to Garcia.
"A search warrant was conducted to obtain his DNA and then it was ultimately that he was found to be a suspect in this case and they were able to arrest him for both of these incidences," Lee said.
Court records say Garcia worked as a trucker during those years and has denied any involvement to investigators and questioned the accuracy of the DNA testing.
"We hope that in this case that these victims are happy that they're finally going to see justice for something that happened to them a long time ago," Lee said.
Phoenix police say they continue to pursue cold cases.
"We're always working on our cold cases and if we have DNA evidence, we're gonna find you," Lee said.
Garcia is being held on a $500,000 cash only bond.
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