DNA evidence led to the Tuesday arrest of a Roann man suspected in at least five robberies in Kosciusko and Wabash counties and Utah.
Tyson Terrill McKay, 28, of Roann, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail for robbery while armed, a Class B felony; criminal confinement while armed, a Class B felony; intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony; and theft, a Class D felony Monday night.He is accused of robbing three McDonald's restaurants in Warsaw, Wabash and Utah, and two Bob Evans restaurants in Warsaw and Wabash.
The break in the case came when one of the robbers at the Warsaw Bob Evans left a ski mask on the dining room floor during the incident. Hair samples from the hat were tested against hair, blood and saliva samples obtained from McKay with a search warrant. Once the DNA samples were obtained from McKay, the samples were taken to the Fort Wayne Indiana State Police lab for testing. However, due to an extensive backlog of cases in the Fort Wayne lab, the testing would not be done for several months.
The Kosciusko County Prosecutor's Office secured the funds to pay for the samples to be sent to an independent testing lab.
The DNA samples were taken to Strand Analysis Laboratory in Indianapolis, where testing indicated that McKay was a perfect match to the DNA found in the hat.
"DNA solved the case," said Warsaw Police Detective Bryan Sherwin.
After the DNA results came back, a warrant was issued for McKay's arrest.
After his arrest, McKay reportedly admitted his involvement with the robberies in Warsaw and Wabash, which all occurred in the past year, as well as the Utah robbery.
McKay had help in all the local robberies, and the investigation of the incidents is ongoing.
