Drunk 19-Year-Old Tied to Garden World Burglary

Police believe a 19-year-old's public intoxication arrest solved a whodunnit burglary investigation.

Dougles Cheek was covered in blood and screaming at passing cars when officers picked him up on March 6. He stood across Lee Highway from a crime scene.

That same night Fairfax County Det. S.M. Augustine found a broken glass door and a store in disarray when he checked out a possible burglary at Garden World on the corner of Lee Highway and Shirley Gate Road. Someone had left behind blood and a shoe print, according to a search warrant sought by Augustine.

Shortly after 1 a.m. police arrested Cheek on Ridge Top Road for public drunkenness. He had blood on his clothes and cuts on his hands and arms. 

Cheek later said he didn't remember a thing from that night, according to the search warrant. But Augustine grew suspicious and asked the courts for permission to obtain buccal swabs to test Cheek's DNA with the blood found at Garden World.

Fairfax County Police charged Cheek with breaking into Garden World at night, unarmed assault and causing intentional damage costing more than $1,000. 

He is considered innocent until proven guilty.