Police: Severed finger left at crime scene helps ID suspect

BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A severed finger left behind at the scene of an attempted home invasion last week in North Carolina led investigators to a suspect in the case, police said.

Burlington officers responded to a report of an attempted home invasion Thursday morning after a resident who had started a vehicle in the driveway encountered an armed man who tried to force his way into the house, police said in a news release.

Police said the two struggled and the man’s gun went off, grazing the resident’s chest, before the resident was able to shut the door on his hand. The resident was not seriously injured.

Crime scene investigators found a finger, believed to have been severed when the resident forced the door shut, inside the suspect’s glove, which fell off during the struggle, police said.

Investigators used fingerprints to identify a suspect, police spokesperson Emily-Lynn Adkins said by telephone in the city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Raleigh.

Vernon Wilson, 67, of Hillsborough was arrested Monday on charges that include first-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury and possession of a firearm by a prohibited felon. Wilson was held on a $250,000 secure bond, police said.

Court records don’t list an attorney for Wilson, according to the clerk of court’s office.