According to a press release, the victim drove his lawnmower to a store in Okahumpka on July 11, 2019 to buy groceries. When he returned home, an armed man met him at his back door.

LEESBURG – Law enforcement officers on Wednesday arrested a man accused of robbing a 97-year-old World War II veteran last year.

The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task force located 29-year-old Kevin Eugene Leeks Jr. at a hotel in Leesburg after Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab results found his DNA was at the robbery scene.

Leeks is charged with home invasion/robbery with a firearm and theft from a person age 65 or older. Leeks was arrested without incident and booked into the Lake County Jail with bail set at $10,300, according to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the release, the victim drove his lawnmower to a store in the Okahumpka area on July 11, 2019, to buy groceries. When he returned home, an armed man met him at his back door.

Family members later found the man unconscious with head injuries, the release said. They also discovered his wallet was missing.

When LCSO detectives investigated the scene, they found a Black and Mild cigarillo tip. In reviewing security footage from the convenience store, they watched Leeks near the victim, according to the release. Leeks bought a Black and Mild cigarillo and left within minutes of the victim.

Deputies got a warrant to obtrain a DNA sample from Leeks. And, in testing the cigarillo tip and the victim’s pants, FDLE lab staffers matched the DNA to Leeks, according to the release.