Suspect in Linden Serial Rapes arrested

Officials say D-N-A evidence used to connect a suspect to a series of rapes sat untested for more than two years because authorities didn't have money to pay for analysis. Columbus police arrested 40-year-old Robert N- Patton Junior yesterday and have charged him with one count of rape. A grand jury could decide on additional charges. Patton had DNA taken in September 2001 while in Orient Correctional Institution. But deputy attorney general Jim Canepa says the sample wasn't tested because federal funding had dried up shortly before then. He says when money became available in June 2003, it was part of a backlog. Yesterday morning, however, Columbus police learned Patton's D-N-A sample matched evidenced gathered from a dozen rapes committed over the last 13 years in the Linden area on the city's east side.