Bloody nose leads to boxer's arrest | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Bloody nose leads to boxer's arrest | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Damm.....



In a life with few victories, Martin Tucker had a big one in April. The struggling boxer won a unanimous decision during a four-round fight in Toledo. He was cheered by a hundred friends and relatives. Sitting ringside were Buster Douglas and Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns. But someone else was in the audience — an FBI agent, according to court records. Afterward, Special Agent Robert Schmitz retrieved a Q-Tip swab that had been used for a bloody nose sustained by Tucker. Believing the light-welterweight had been involved in the robbery of a Monroe credit union in 2009, Schmitz brought the swab to an FBI lab that matched its DNA to genetic material from a black mask worn by one of the robbers, according to a criminal complaint. Tucker, 32, of Toledo was arrested Tuesday and charged with robbing a bank and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Asked about Schmitz's ingenuity, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Carlson laughed but declined comment. "I'd rather not comment on my feelings about a case," she said. The way law enforcement officials discovered the black mask and other clothing worn by two robbers is a whole other story, according to an affidavit filed in court Tuesday. It began in July 2009 when two men clutching semiautomatic weapons walked into the Monroe County Community Credit Union in Temperance. Both wore ski masks, hooded sweatshirts and gloves. "Hurry up," one of the men barked at a cashier. "Give me all the money in the drawer." The men got $5,379 and jumped into a car, driven by a third person, according to the affidavit by Schmitz. They drove three miles, crossing into Ohio, before abandoning the vehicle in the driveway of a private home in Toledo. The car had been stolen earlier in the day from a different Toledo home. The robbers then ran into a wooded area, stripping off their clothes. But the getaway car had been followed by a motorist, who tipped off the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Deputies discovered a trail of articles leading from the car into the woods. Among the items were latex gloves, a black mask, industrial gloves and a Footlocker T-shirt. The FBI matched DNA from the T-shirt to Quentin A. Sherer. His DNA was in the FBI file because he had been convicted of five bank robberies in a two-month span ending in January 2000. Sherer, 32, of Toledo was arrested and indicted in November 2011. His case is pending. His DNA also was discovered on one of the industrial gloves and the black mask. But tests also showed that another person's DNA was on the black mask and other clothing. The FBI began looking for Sherer's associates and found a photo on his Myspace page showing him with Martin Tucker. Tucker's physical characteristics seemed to match that of one of the robbers, according to the affidavit. But the FBI didn't have Tucker's DNA on file. Schmitz, who has been an FBI agent for 23 years, looked into Tucker's background and discovered he was a fighter. He also learned he had an upcoming bout in April. His hunch was correct. Tucker's DNA matched not only genetic material from the black mask but also DNA taken from the getaway car's steering wheel. It was supposed to be a big night for Tucker, he told a Toledo newspaper at the time. He was a three-time Golden Gloves champ who had a checkered professional career, with eight wins and 10 losses. After being a patsy against undefeated fighters away from home, he told the reporter, he finally was getting a chance to fight in front of a home crowd. And a G man. From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120718/METRO/207180346#ixzz210eYYkMu