Massachusetts police made a spud-tacular break Friday in a decade-old cold-case murder — thanks to a sweet potato.
Authorities finally arrested a suspect Friday in the Feb. 27, 2011, shooting death of Todd Lampley, after cops found the alleged killer’s DNA on a sweet potato left at the scene, the Cape Cod Times reported.
Devarus Hampton, of Mashpee, was arraigned Monday in Barnstable District Court on charges of murder, assault, and battery with a deadly weapon, WCVB said.
Hampton, 40, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.
Police found three shell casings, a black cellphone, and a sweet potato with a hole through it at the scene, ABC News reported. Investigators reportedly found Hampton’s DNA on the sweet potato.
“The sweet potato appears to be used as a silencer,” First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Elumba told the outlet.
In court, prosecutors recalled a scene in the hit HBO series “The Wire” when a sweet potato was used to mask a gunshot. The cellphone found at the scene of the shooting was also registered under the name Marlo Stanfield, one of the characters on the show.
He is due back in Barnstable County court on April 5.