Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Monday, August 25, 2014
(BLOOMINGTON) - A Jasper man was arrested after Bloomington police found his blood at a home invasion and armed robbery that happened in February.
32-year-old Gerald Curtis Bates is facing felony charges of armed robbery, burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and being a habitual criminal offender.
Bloomington police say Bates' DNA matched a blood trail found in the 800 block of West 12th Street.
Just after 3 a.m. February 18th, the couple, a 38-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, awoke to the sounds of someone in their living room, where their three children were sleeping.
Bates, armed with what the woman described as an "antique" shotgun, demanded cash and jewelry.
The woman was able to get the three children to safety while the woman's husband shot Bates with a pistol. She was then able to hit Bates in the head with a walking stick.
According to Bloomington police Sgt. Joe Crider, the blood collected at the scene of the home invasion robbery was identified in the state DNA database as Bates'.
Bates was arrested on a parole violation in the Evansville Parole District on May 13. When asked by a parole officer about the scar by his right eyebrow, Bates reportedly said he had gotten into a fight.
He was transferred to the Monroe County Jail in late May, after Bloomington police obtained a search warrant to collect a DNA sample from Bates before he was sent back to the Branchville Correctional Facility to serve the remainder of a prison sentence.
During a police interview, Bates said he was not in Bloomington at the time of the February robbery, and that the scar came from an injury while he was working on his pickup truck.
Bates is being held at the Monroe County Jail on a $100,000 surety or $10,000 cash bond.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.