GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – DNA evidence tying Miles Cruz to the scene of an attack of a woman on a De Pere trail will be allowed at trial, a judge ruled Monday.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim was walking on the East River Trail with her son when the attack happened. Prosecutors allege Cruz put a sweatshirt over the victim’s head, pulling her backwards. The victim told police she fought to get away, but the attacker squeezed her neck, causing her to lose consciousness. However, she did remember being sexually assaulted. Police found Cruz’s backpack in the area, and later found him, as well. He said he had slept in a nearby park in Allouez. DNA evidence tied Cruz to the victim, the criminal complaint says.
The defense wanted the DNA evidence barred from use at trial, arguing Cruz didn’t give consent for a sample his DNA to be taken. But in a ruling Monday, Judge Tammy Jo Hock denied the motion.
“There is no doubt that Cruz consented, in fact, to this sample. The video conclusively shows that Cruz opened his mouth and made himself available for the swab. Cruz also freely and intelligently provided the buccal swab sample. By that point Detective Guth had repeatedly explained that he wanted to eliminate Cruz as a suspect in the assault of the lady on the trail, and he wanted the DNA sample to do so. Cruz certainly understood Detective Guth’s purposes because he also acknowledged that the finger swabs were going to be used for the same thing. For these reasons, the consent exception to the warrant requirement applies to the buccal swab,” the judge wrote in the 16-page decision.
A status conference and possible motions hearing will be held Sept. 9.
