Cigarette Butt DNA Leads To Arrest In Tolland Stolen Pipe Case

TOLLAND, CT — A discarded cigarette helped investigators identify a suspect in a case of stolen copper pipes from a house in Tolland, state police said.

The case dates back to October 2017 when a house on Meadowood Road in Tolland was on the market, according to a state police report.

Aaron Bengston, who is now 40 but was 38 at the time of the incident, was arrested in the case on Friday and charged with first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree burglary, according to a report. He is listed as living at Parkview Drive in Southington.

He was to appear in Rockville Superior Court Monday, according to judicial system records.

The home had been put on the market in September of that year, according to a warrant. The owner, a 70-year-old woman from Vernon, told state police the home was unoccupied and was shown to five parties by Oct. 1.

The butt of a discarded Newport cigarette was found in the basement, according to a warrant. In August 2018, a DNA match pointed to Bengston, who had a previous history ot stealing copper pipes from vacant homes that were for sale, according to a warrant.

He may have entered the home through an unsecured hatchway, according to a warrant.

The missing pipes led to damage valued at $8,690, according to a warrant.

Benston told investigators he scraps copper "legally" and never recalled smoking "inside a house." He said the cigarette but may have been "brought" into the house, a warrant indicates. He also offered no viable explanation for being near the area, nor did he admit he was, according to a warrant.