Police match DNA to man charged in home invasion, sex assault

CEDAR RAPIDS – Investigators matched DNA from the crime scene to the man charged in the home invasion and sexual assault of an 81-year-old woman in May, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Thursday in Linn County District Court.

Darryl C. Tyson, 21, was charged in July after being arrested on a warrant in Peoria, Ill., with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree sexual assault, and second-degree theft.

He is accused of forcing his way into a home along Oakland Road NE, across from Daniels Park, May 5 and sexually assaulting the elderly woman before escaping in her car. The car was recovered in Hiawatha a few days later.

Investigators matched DNA from the crime scene to Tyson through the CODIS system, a national DNA criminal database, according to the warrant filed to obtain Tyson's cell phone records.

Police tracked Tyson through a girlfriend he listed as his contact when he checked into a local shelter back in February and again when he was arrested in Peoria, according to the warrant.

In June, a confidential informant was shown a photo line-up and positively identified Tyson as the individual who had that same girlfriend and had been seen at her apartment, according to the warrant.

The cell phone records were obtained for Tyson and his girlfriend to check phone and text messages for any evidence related to the crime, according to the warrant.

Extradition proceedings from Peoria are still in the works, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said.

Tyson also faces charges of aggravated battery against a peace officer, two counts of resisting arrest and two counts of obstructing justice/destroying evidence in Peoria.