Williamsburg, Va. - A Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can was all police say they needed to find out who destroyed a BASF building in Williamsburg.
"The beer cans were swabbed and it came back with a hit," said Major Steve Rubino with James City County police.
Thirty-three year old Peter Amundsen and 23-year old Dalton Snead have been arrested for breaking into the building back in January. The two are accused of kicking in doors and windows, smashing boxes of light bulbs, and spraying several fire extinguishers, according to court documents.
"We're not just talking about breaking out a window, they tore the building up pretty good," Major Rubino said.
One of the men's names was even written on a chalkboard. And apparently, they were drinking PBR, as police found the cans amongst the destruction.
Police say they got them swabbed, and it came back with a positive match for Amundsen, who was in the system for a previous crime.
"I don't know that leaving something behind puts it into the stupid criminal category, but when you have a 30-year-old man consuming alcohol and destroying private property, to me that's stupid," Major Rubino added.
Court documents show when police questioned Amundsen about the more than $12,000 worth of damage, he confessed, and said he knew he shouldn't have been there.
He also said he thought he building was abandoned.
He also told police he was with Snead and another man who's charged, but he hasn't been arrested yet.
Major Rubino says they're not surprised that the suspects left behind a key piece of evidence.
"You see it a lot on TV shows and movies. Nobody that commits a crime thinks they're going to caught."
