| Crime |
Derrick Estes was sleeping in his vehicle when unknown offenders approached and fired into the car at close range, injuring him. Before heading to the hospital, surveillance video showed Mr. Estes unloading items from his vehicle behind a nearby residence. |
| Evidence |
Investigators recovered several items, including cartridge cases and a firearm, from behind the residence. |
| DNA |
The Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory generated DNA data from the cartridge and rifle swabs. |
| Match |
Due to the limited and complex nature of the two evidence items, the crime laboratory could not come to any conclusions using manual interpretation methods. |
| TrueAllele |
TrueAllele found that a match between the cartridge cases and Mr. Estes is 74.6 sextillion (a 1 followed by 21 zeros) times more probable than a coincidence. The computer also found that a match between the rifle and Mr. Estes is 32.4 quintillion (a 1 followed by 18 zeros) times more probable than a coincidence. |
| Cybergenetics |
On September 20, 2022, Cybergenetics analyst William Allan testified before a Louisiana federal court jury about the TrueAllele DNA results. |
| Outcome |
On September 21, 2022, the jury found Derrick Estes guilty on all four drug and weapons charges brought against him. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release. |
