A trace of blood found on a pizza box inside a ransacked Northeast Florida home became the key evidence that helped detectives identify and locate a suspect, authorities said Monday.

The incident originally took place on Jan. 28, when a Palm Coast homeowner returned to her residence to find the power cut, the internet disabled and the house burglarized. Between $2,500 and $3,000 in cash was missing, according to a press release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

While processing the scene, detectives discovered a red smear on a pizza box in the kitchen that they believed to be blood. Forensic testing confirmed the substance was blood, and the local CSI unit sent the sample to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for further analysis, the sheriff's office said.

On Aug. 18, FDLE notified Flagler County investigators that the blood sample provided matched with someone in their system: 33-year-old William Vargas-Carmona, of Jacksonville. Homeland Security records showed the Colombian citizen had been deported in September 2024 after being residing in the U.S. without proper documentation, authorities said.

Detectives had already determined the burglar intentionally switched off the circuit breaker in the garage, unplugged the modem in the living room and covered a home-security camera before the device lost power, steps they say were taken to hide his identity. But the DNA match provided the break needed to advance the case, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.

Authorities obtained a warrant for Vargas-Carmona's arrest on Oct. 14 on charges of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft. On Nov. 21, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents located him in Jacksonville, arrested him and transported him to the Baker County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond until his extradition to Flagler County. 

"This dirtbag was in our country illegally, deported once already, and returned again to prey on American communities, but he made the mistake of coming to Flagler County," Sheriff Staly said. "We work with our federal partners to get criminals like him off the streets and eventually deported."