- March 3, 2025
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre on Monday announced the creation of a new full-time crime scene unit that will focus on the collection of DNA and other forensic evidence left at crime scenes.
In making this commitment, Manfre authorized the hiring of a full-time crime scene investigator and the purchase of a new mobile crime scene unit.
As a result, the Sheriff's Office has signed a contract with Deerfield Beach-based DNA Labs International, which will analyze and create a local databank from DNA samples that are collected by the agency’s crime scene technician and deputies.
Samples collected by the agency will then be compared with results of previous submissions in the local databank and then submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where they will be uploaded and compared to previous submissions contained in both state and national databases.
DNA Labs International is assisting Laura Pazarena, the agency’s new crime scene investigator, in providing training to deputies in how to collect DNA samples of touch, blood or body fluid samples that may be left at crime scenes.
In the past, the agency collected DNA samples that were then submitted to FDLE’s regional crime lab
in Jacksonville for analysis. Submissions to the lab were limited to very serious crimes, such as sexual battery and murder. The processing of those samples by FDLE often took months because of the volume of submissions being made to the lab by law enforcement agencies in the Jacksonville region.
Pazarena brings to the agency an extensive background in forensics and crime scene processing.
She obtained a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in 2005 in chemistry and forensic science.
Between 2010 and 2012, Pazarena was deployed in Afghanistan with the Department of Defense, where she served as an evidence custodian and case file manager. Most recently, she has been with the DOD as a weapons technical intelligence forensic subject matter expert in Arlington, Va., where she managed forensic-related projects for the agency.
“Law enforcement has known for quite some time that the vast majority of crime is committed by a small number of people,” Manfre said in a statement. “It is my hope that this venture will have a significant impact on crime, and we will be able to apprehend and successfully prosecute those offenders responsible for those crimes.”
