Shoe left at crime scene helps police catch suspect

A teenager who threatened a woman with a baseball bat at her home in Cambridgeshire was brought to justice after police traced DNA from his shoe.

Joshua Montgomery-Gray, who was armed with a bat and wearing a balaclava, confronted a woman on the doorstep of her house in Melbourn in November 2018.

During the incident, Montgomery-Grey's trainer got stuck in the door and he left it behind when he ran off.

More than a year later 19-year-old Montgomery-Grey was arrested for a separate crime and his DNA was linked to the size 11 Nike Air Max.

Montgomery-Grey pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage. He also admitted threatening behaviour after being linked to a disorder outside Fez nightclub in Cambridge.

DC Craig McPherson said: “Thanks to the vital work of our forensics teams on the shoe left at the scene, we were able to link Montgomery-Gray to the crime despite his no comment interview.

“This incident must have been incredibly frightening and left a woman and her son scared in their own home after being confronted by two men they didn’t know in balaclavas.”

Montgomery-Gray was handed 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete a 25-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £210 in compensation to the victim.