Dropped latex glove leads to arrest in Nether Providence burglary

A discarded latex glove resulted in the arrest of a Philadelphia man in a burglary in 2023 in Nether Providence.

Township police announced that Carmen N. Carrozza, 55, also known as Pasquale N. Carozza, has been charged with one count each of felony burglary and trespass, and misdemeanor theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

DNA from a discarded glove left at the scene allowed police to find Carozza who has a long history of break-ins and is now living under the alias.

The burglary took place Sept 1 that year in the unit block of Rose Valley Road.

According a news release from the probable-cause affidavit by Detective James Irey:

A family member arrived home that day to find drawers in the living room and bedrooms open and empty, and some jewelry strewn across one of the beds and nearby floor.

The family member reported a rare coin collection and some women’s clothing missing.

Irey processed the scene and determined the intruder appeared to have entered the house through an unlocked basement window, but needed to force open the locked basement door leading to the living room.

On the floor in the main bedroom, investigators found a white latex glove, which was sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory for forensic analysis.

In July, state police notified Irey that a DNA profile was recovered from the glove through the Combined DNA Index System and was preliminarily matched to a Pasquele Carozza.

Irey’s investigation determined that Pasquale Carozza is an alias for Carmen Carrozza and confirmed through a Pennsylvania driver’s license, along with Carrozza’s criminal history documented in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Additionally, Carrozza’s DNA was potentially the same contributor to samples previously submitted by two law enforcement agencies investigating burglaries in 2023.

In August, police were able to get a warrant for a DNA sample from Carrozza, who was incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution in Camp Hill at that time.

That DNA sample was sent to the state police crime lab for DNA analysis, and technicians confirmed Carrozza was a contributor to the DNA profile collected from the latex glove at the burglary scene on Rose Valley Road.

Acknowledging that DNA cases take time, Irey said he is pleased with the outcome, which resulted in charges against an individual with a long history of burglaries, police said.

Carrozza, who is still in state prison, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 21 in Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth Gallard’s court.