ROCKVILLE, Md. - Montgomery County (web|news) police say they have DNA evidence linking a suspect to the murder of a Bethesda woman who was killed in what police have called a series of home-invasion robberies targeting elderly residents who were tied up.

Jose Juan Garcia-Perlera, 33, of Hyattsville, was arrested Wednesday. He is charged with first-degree murder, four counts of robbery and one count of armed robbery. Garcia-Perlera is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Detention Center. 

Sources say Garcia-Perlera is an illegal immigrant who has been in this country about six years. He was first developed as a suspect in an August 28 burglary in Bethesda, police said.  

When detectives searched his Hyattsville apartment, police say they found articles stolen from several homes. A DNA test conclusively linked Garcia-Perlera to the murder of Mary Frances Havenstein, 63, and at least two other home-invasion robberies, police said.

Linked Incidents

Sept. 17, 2007	Bethesda
Nov. 27, 2007	Chevy Chase
Jan. 9, 2008	Palisades, D.C.
Feb. 27, 2008	Potomac
May 7, 2008	Bethesda
Sept. 4, 2008	Potomac

Havenstein's body was found tied up in her Seven Locks Road home on Sept. 4.  She died of multple injuries, police said.

The crime spree dates back more than a year in an area of southwestern Montgomery County, essentially along River Road. In each case, in the early hours of the morning, a Hispanic man who spoke good, but accented, English gained entry to his victim's home through a door or window.

In each case the victims were bound; several were also assaulted.

Linked Incidents by Location

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