FBI Used Boxer's Bloody Ringside Swab to Link Him To Bank Robbery
FBI Agent Robert Schmitz went to unusual lengths to solve a 2009 bank robbery: he snagged some of boxer Martin Tucker's blood from ringside during a fight, and matched the sample to DNA found in a mask used in the robbery.
Tucker is accused of stealing $5,400 from the Monroe County Community Credit Union near the Michigan-Ohio Border.
The FBI refused to say how exactly Schmitz acquired the bloody sample, but it's fun to think he ran by and swabbed a pool of blood. Or maybe he grabbed it while disguised as a grizzled old former boxing coach offering advice from ringside. Either way, the sample probably wasn't too hard to get once they tracked Martin to the boxing ring. As defense attorney Haytham Faraj put it: "We leave our fingerprints, bits of hair and skin all over the place. If you're a boxer, sometimes you leave your blood around," which, yes, sounds about right.
As for Martin Tucker, he won't be missing a run at greatness if convicted; the 32-year-old is just 1-6 in his last seven fights.
As is typical with things like this, friends and co-workers were shocked to learn Tucker might be a criminal.
Bronco McKart, who also boxed that night in Toledo, knows Tucker and was surprised by the allegations.
"That's 'CSI Miami' stuff," McKart told the Monroe Evening News, referring to the bloody swab. "That's just amazing."
Yes, it is amazing, but let's be real: is anything mentioned above half as amazing as the name Bronco McKart? No, no it's not.
