KITCHENER -- Guelph police used DNA to arrest a man more than a year after he allegedly stole a vehicle.

The theft was reported to police on March 23, 2020 and the vehicle was left abandoned downtown about a week later. Police found several items in the vehicle and sent them to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for analysis.

Police said they found a match for a DNA sample from the vehicle earlier this month. The vehicle's owner said he didn't know that man and there was no reason for his DNA to be in the vehicle.

The 38-year-old Guelph man was arrested Thursday and charged with possession of stolen property, being an occupant of a stolen vehicle and breaching probation. He's scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 24.