Dallas police say a cold case that lingered for more than a decade finally broke open this year when a DNA hit pointed them to a suspect, leading to the June arrest of 35-year-old Jarvis Pierce on a sexual assault charge.
According to the department, detectives who focus on re-examining older sexual assault evidence went back to the basics: they reinterviewed victims, collected fresh DNA samples, and then sought an arrest warrant. The Dallas Police Fugitive Unit later tracked down Pierce and booked him on the sexual assault charge.
In February, Detective Elizabeth DeAngelis received an alert that DNA from an older case had produced a match. She teamed up with Detective Sara Sheerin to reinterview victims and comb through the evidence. With veteran Detective Carlos Cardenas joining the effort, the team blended witness accounts with the new DNA results and secured a warrant that set up Pierce’s June arrest, according to the Dallas Police Department.
Tracking Old Kits With SAKI
This latest arrest grew out of work tied to the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a federal program that pays for testing and multidisciplinary reviews of previously unsubmitted or partially tested rape kits. The initiative helps local agencies test old evidence, upload offender profiles to national DNA databases, and develop new leads that can revive stalled investigations, according to SAKI.
Where This Fits in Dallas' Cold Case Work
Dallas detectives have leaned on similar forensic reviews to close other long-running mysteries in recent months, a trend the department links to increased lab capacity and grant-funded reviews of older cases. One recent example came when a Dallas detective solved a 50-year-old cold case, bringing long-awaited closure to a local family.
Legal Process and What Comes Next
Police say Pierce has been arrested and charged with sexual assault, and detectives are now reviewing other pending cold cases to see whether he might be linked to additional incidents. Court filings and arraignment details were not immediately available. The department said its investigators "work to give victims a voice, a sense of relief, and an equal shot at justice," according to the Dallas Police Department.
Anyone with information about this case, or about other unsolved sexual assault investigations, can contact the Dallas Police Department through its listed tip and reporting options. For contact details and instructions on how to submit a tip, visit the official site of the Dallas Police Department.
For detectives and survivors alike, the case is another reminder that old files are not necessarily closed chapters. With modern DNA tools and persistent follow-up, investigators say they are working to center survivors and chip away at long-standing gaps in justice, one cold case at a time.
