infoDNA match leads to suspect in 2006 sexual assault

In 2006 Phoenix officers responded to a call about a sexual assault. The victim told police that she had just returned from taking her dog on a walk when she found a strange man in her apartment. Police say the suspect shoved the woman into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her while threatening her with a pocketknife.

Investigators obtained a DNA sample, but were unable to make a match.

But on May 12, a DNA match was found. Detectives began to conduct a follow-up investigation and were eventually able to identify a suspect. Police say 40-year-old Saville Thomas was arrested in Phoenix on May 18. During an interview with detectives, Thomas denied being inside the woman's apartment and denied sexually assaulting her. Thomas faces two counts of sexual assault, one count of second-degree burglary and one count of threatening or intimidating.