States Attorney
DNA DATABASE HIT RESULTS IN 40 YEARS IN IDOC
WHEATON – DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett announced today that an inmate currently in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) has entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced on two counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault and one count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse in connection to an unsolved 2001 attack on a 26-year-old Aurora woman.
Israel Garza, 33 (d.o.b. 9/29/1973), formerly of Aurora, was charged in the attack after a positive identification was returned from the Illinois convicted felon DNA Database. He is currently serving seven years in the IDOC on weapons charges out of Kane County.
On July 28, 2001, Garza, who was armed with a gun, entered the bedroom of his victim, placed tape over her the mouth and threatened to kill her if she screamed. Garza then dragged his victim to another room in the house where he sexually assaulted her before fleeing. After Garza left, the woman freed herself from the tape, went to a friends house who took her to the hospital.
“This case is a perfect example of just how important it was to expand the State’s DNA Database to include all convicted felons,” remarked Birkett, who authored legislation expanding the DNA Database to include all convicted felons. “Without this expanded Database, Mr. Garza would have been out on parole from his previous convictions in April 2010, free to prey on others as he saw fit. The victim of this horrific attack was unable to identify him but thankfully however, our Felony DNA Database could positively identify Mr. Garza and we were able to solve this terrible crime.”
Garza will be required to serve 85% of his sentence, 34 years, concurrent to the sentence he is currently serving.
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