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United States v Jeremy Esteves and Robert Brumfield
TrueAllele finds armed robber’s DNA on bandana
| Crime | On December 18, 2013, robbers ambushed an armored truck outside a Chase New Orleans bank. They shot bank guard Hector Trochez as he walked into the bank. Trochez died at the scene, and the gang fled with $265,000 in cash. |
| Evidence | A bandana was recovered. |
| DNA | The Louisiana State Police crime lab developed DNA mixture data from the bandana. |
| Match | Due to the limited nature of the DNA data profile, the lab was not able to fully interpret the mixture. So they contacted Cybergenetics for TrueAllele analysis of their DNA data. |
| TrueAllele | The computer found that a match between the bandana and defendant Curtis Johnson, Jr. was 200 times more probable than coincidence. At that match strength, only 1 in 4,100 people would match as strongly. |
| Cybergenetics | On November 6, 2019, DNA analyst Jennifer Bracamontes testified before a federal court jury about the TrueAllele results. |
| Outcome | On November 13, the federal court jury convicted defendant Jeremy Esteves of murder. They found defendant Robert Brumfield guilty of planning a robbery, but acquitted him of murder. |
Media
- 6 charged, with 1 on the lam, in 2013 killing of armored-truck guard NOLA.com
- 6th suspect in 2013 killing of armored truck guard arrested in Texas NOLA.com
- Federal prosecutors seek death penalty in 2013 case of murdered armored car worker Fox 8
- Judge presiding over 2013 armored truck robbery trial weighs defense's motion for mistrial NOLA.com
- Feds in New Orleans are close to securing first conviction in 2013 killing of armored truck guard NOLA.com
- Jurors deliberating fates of 2 men charged in 2013 slaying of Loomis armored truck guard NOLA.com
- 1 convicted in 2013 armored truck guard murder; 1 guilty of planning robbery but acquitted of murder NOLA.com