[naviga:img class="img-responsive" src="/Assets/news2015/0913DayRousseau.JPG" alt="Michael Rousseau"/]

Michael Rousseau

Lyme — Police this week charged a Pawcatuck man in connection with a December 2015 burglary after a cigarette butt left at the scene led officers to him.

Michael Rousseau, 22, of 4 Morton Ave., Apt. 4, Pawcatuck, was charged on a warrant with third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and third-degree larceny.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the burglary took place at 303 Joshuatown Road on Dec. 11, 2015. The perpetrator forced open the front door and took a 55-inch TV, six pairs of cufflinks, a bracelet and a ring, police said. Police estimated the cost to replace the items and the door would be about $8,665.

According to the affidavit, Trooper Benjamin Borelli found a cigarette butt in the guest bedroom while he was investigating the incident. The victims of the burglary said the cigarette butt was not theirs, so Borelli entered it into evidence to be analyzed by the state lab.

In February this year, state lab workers informed Borelli that DNA on the butt matched the DNA of Rousseau, the affidavit states.

State police obtained a search warrant and collected new DNA from Rousseau in April. According to the affidavit, it, too, matched the DNA on the cigarette butt.

Police said Rousseau turned himself in at Troop F in Westbrook on Monday.

Records show Rousseau has been convicted on burglary and larceny charges in the past. He additionally has another pending court case related to a Dec. 9, 2015, burglary.

Arraigned on Monday, Rousseau is next due in New London Superior Court on Oct. 24.