• A spot of blood left behind on a broken store shelf helped Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department deputies solve a breaking-and-entering crime from November 2012.

According to a report, a large rock was used to break the glass of a door to a North Ridge East, Ashtabula Township, retailer on Nov. 14. The shop’s owner later found blood on a large piece of glass from a showcase, and the department sent a sample for DNA processing by the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

A match was found through the Combined DNA Indexed System (CODIS). The department interviewed the 37-year-old male suspect in January, but he refused to give a supplemental sample for confirmation. A warrant for a DNA swab was obtained through Ashtabula Municipal Court, and when the deputy presented the warrant, the suspect confessed to breaking into the store. The subject told deputies that he was using drugs at the time and took several iPods from the store to trade for drugs.

• Two Ashtabula adults and a 13-year-old who walked out of the Ashtabula Township Kmart wearing new shoes were later apprehended as a result of a deputy spotting the car in which the trio made their exit.

According to a report, the deputy spotted the vehicle that had been used in the commission of the theft and stopped the car on Route 20 near Washington Boulevard. A passenger had active warrants from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and was arrested. Shortly thereafter, the two adults who had walked out in new shoes arrived and led the deputy to the whereabouts of the 13-year-old and his new shoes. The footwear were recovered and the adults and juvenile face theft charges.

• An Ashtabula Township resident reported that two vehicles in the driveway of his Latimer Avenue home were entered sometime during the night Thursday.

The window was busted out of a locked vehicle and a wallet and cigarettes were reported missing. An unlocked vehicle also was entered. The suspect left footprints behind in the snow, but the trail ended on dry pavement, according to a report.

• Two brothers who got together for a few drinks Thursday afternoon ended up fighting each other with a steak knife, according a report from the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident occurred at the Rome Township home of the 63-year-old brother, who invited his 61-year-old sibling to join him for some drinks. The visit turned unfriendly when the older brother became upset and accused his brother of being a thief. The older brother then attacked his brother with a steak knife and, after the men scuffled over the knife, the older brother produced a rifle. He threatened to shoot his younger brother, who fled through the snow in his stocking feet.

The report states that both men had cuts to their hands and the younger brother had a cut on his cheek. The deputy and sergeant who responded to the call noted that the younger brother had blood on his face, hands and in his hair. The victim had left his vehicle at his brother’s house and was afraid to return because of his brother’s threats.

The law officers went to the house of the older brother, who claimed that his younger brother wanted his money and steals firewood from him. The older brother, who smelled strongly of alcohol, was arrested and charged with using weapons under disability, using weapons while intoxicated and domestic violence (repeat offender).