Gwinnett Daily Post

LILBURN -- Using blood droplets found on a shattered piece of glass, Lilburn police have identified an oft-arrested suspect in a violent March home invasion.

In the wee hours of March 16, four men armed with a rifle and handguns entered a quiet home of Harvard Drive, beating the unsuspecting family before zip-tying their hands together.

During the robbery, one resident, one of two grown sons living at the home with their elderly parents, managed to escape via a second-story window. He returned with a firearm, and an exchange of shots ensued.

Somewhere during the melee, glass was broken and one of the armed suspects was injured, bleeding over the shards.

On Monday, Lilburn police learned that the blood, run through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab, was a match for a known criminal.

An arrest warrant has now been issued for 39-year-old Gerald Demonte Watkins.

A background check on Watkins revealed a criminal history that included charges of "voluntary manslaughter, murder, discharge of firearms, dangerous drugs, terroristic threats and acts and multiple other charges," the warrant said.

Gwinnett jail records showed no arrests in the county for the Atlanta resident, whose last known address was at 879 Hobson St.

Two getaway vehicles, believed to be a dark-colored sports utility vehicle and a silver Mercury Grand Marquis, were used in the March incident, police said.

Lilburn police ask that anyone with information to call the department at 770-921-2211.