A new DNA testing program in Texas is already producing results. Just eight days after the second phase of the state’s Rapid DNA Testing Pilot Program launched, a DNA sample collected from a suspect at the Montgomery County Jail generated an investigative lead in a case dating back to 2024.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that the match, known as a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) “hit,” was recorded by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 23, 2026. The DNA sample came from a suspect who had been arrested and booked into the jail on felony theft charges.
The 2024 case remains under investigation, and authorities are not releasing additional details at this time.
The development comes just days after participating agencies in Montgomery and Williamson counties began entering DNA samples from felony arrestees into CODIS using Rapid DNA technology on Oct. 15.
Unlike traditional DNA testing, which can take weeks to produce results, the new technology allows participating agencies to obtain information about felony offenders booked into their jails in near real time.
How the Rapid DNA program works
The Texas Legislature authorized the two-year pilot prog...