Charges: DNA on beer bottles link Eden Prairie man to burglaries

A Twin Cities man left half-drank beer bottles at the scene of two homes he burglarized in St. Peter last year, according to new criminal charges.

Prosecutors in Nicollet County last week charged Seth T. Pierce, 23, of Eden Prairie, with six felony counts, including two counts of 1st-degree burglary, in connection with the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, a couple woke up on the morning of June 16, 2023 to find a large cut in the bottom of their kitchen window screen.

Around the home, cabinets, drawers and dressers had been rifled through and around $350 in cash and $8,150 worth of jewelry were missing.

In a basement bedroom, the homeowner found a half-empty bottle of beer that he'd not opened or drank, and investigators swabbed the bottle for evidence.

Charges allege Pierce also burglarized a second St. Peter home in the overnight hours on June 16. His license plate information, observed the night of the burglaries, helped police identify Pierce as a suspect.

According to the criminal complaint, two opened beer bottles were left at the scene of the second alleged burglary, which happened around 2:30 a.m.

Police obtained a search warrant for Pierce's DNA and, with analysis from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, investigators determined the swab on the beer bottles from both homes matched Pierce's DNA profile.