Key West The Newspaper

The DNA left behind in a mysterious black sweater has solved a second in a string of snatching robberies that occurred last February. On February 24th, a Texas woman was walking on Duval Street when a man wearing a black sweater and riding a bicycle rode past her and snatched her purse from her shoulder. When police responded, they were able to trace the smart phone in her purse to a nearby cross street. They found the phone and her wallet wrapped in a man’s sweater that matched the description of what the victim reported the suspect wearing. While detectives searched nearby surveillance cameras for a possible image, the phone was fingerprinted and a DNA sample was collected from the sweater. Police soon found that no image was captured and there was no good fingerprint. They sent the DNA off to the lab.

The following day, another woman had her purse snatched by a man riding a bike. This time, police were able to see the suspect on nearby surveillance cameras and issued a Be on the Lookout. On February 26th, the suspect was spotted and arrested. Michael Soraghan, Jr., 45, was taken to the Monroe County Detention Center and charged with robbery and grand theft.

Soraghan’s arrest ended a string of snatching robberies that police suspected were committed by one suspect. In August, detectives were informed that the DNA samples from the sweater matched those of Soraghan that were on file with the Department of Corrections, linking Soraghan to the February 24th robbery.

Soraghan, who had been residing at the Keys Overnight Temporary Shelter before his arrest in February, remains incarcerated at the county jail.