Burglar Sentenced to 15 Years December 4, 2007 – A Blanco County Jury comprised of 8 women and 4 men handed down a guilty verdict to Brian Christian Andrews, 24, of Leander, for the crime of burglary of a habitation. After deliberating for a little over an hour, the jury sentenced Andrews to 15 years in prison. The honorable Dan Mills presided. The State’s case against Andrews linked him to the residence burglarized by using DNA evidence, footprint analysis, and testimony from several witnesses. A key piece of evidence for the State was a cigarette butt found in the residence. A sample of DNA from Andrews was used for comparison. The cigarette butt was sent to the DPS Lab in Austin for testing, and the analysis confirmed the cigarette butt contained Andews’ DNA. That evidence placed Andrews inside the residence, the major element of a burglary case. The State was represented by Assistant District Attorney John Couch, and assisted by First Assistant District Attorney Tom Cloudt of the 424th Judicial District. “I was pleased with the verdict and sentence,” said Couch. “The investigation performed by the Blanco Sheriff’s Department was excellent,” added Couch. District Attorney Sam Oatman was also proud of Couch and his presentation as he is new to his staff. He further commented that, “It shows the value of DNA evidence in crime investigation when it is found at crime scenes. That evidence, however, is not always available unless direct body substances are found such as blood, hair, semen, or saliva as in this case, found on the cigarette butt.”