Crime analysts are the 'unsung heroes' of law enforcement. Here's what they do.

Anthony Gorgone's name didn't make the papers or the evening news when 40-year-old Juan Sanchez was arrested, charged and later confessed to a previously unsolved murder in Central Florida.

But it probably should have been. It was Gorgone's painstaking work as a crime lab analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that led directly to the case being solved.

In 2011, a 21-year-old woman, Lacy Thistlewood, was found murdered in a parking lot in Orange County. There were no leads, no suspects and scant evidence.

"I analyzed a sample from under the fingernails of the victim and was able to get a partial male DNA profile," said Gorgone, now chief of forensic services for FDLE. "I had enough data to search it in the CODIS DNA database."

CODIS stands for Combined DNA Index System — a database that includes local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons.

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But there was no match. Two years went by.

Then in 2013, Sanchez was arrested in another part of the state on an unrelated charge. He had to give his DNA sample to the state.

"His sample was entered into the state database and it hit to the unsolved homicide I worked," Gorgone said. "Once confronted, the man confessed to strangling the victim. I will never forget how excited the agency was when I called them to let them know about the CODIS hit."

'Unsung heroes'

Crime analysts throughout the state are the civilian side of law enforcement. These are the men and women who do the behind-the-scenes work, the painstaking bits that help detectives and investigators make arrests — and sometimes headlines.

“FDLE’s crime intelligence analysts and crime laboratory analysts are the 'unsung heroes' of law enforcement and do not seek or expect recognition," said Jason Kriegsman, resident agent in charge of Brevard and Volusia counties. "Typically sworn members of law enforcement agencies receive the most recognition but behind every good investigator is a good analyst."

In addition to lab analysts like Gorgone, there are also intelligence analysts like Andrea Saunders, who basically gather and analyze information to help solve crimes or prevent them from happening. A typical day for a crime analyst involves reviewing new intelligence reports before meeting with agents to determine the appropriate next steps.

Saunders has worked cases ranging from human trafficking to economic crimes, missing children to major drug dealing.

Intelligence analysts are the ones who assume investigative leadership when researching the structure and scope of criminal operations.

Stopping a potential murderer

For Saunders, nothing is more satisfying than preventing a violent crime from taking place, like the time FDLE received a tip about a man who was said to be very dangerous and plotting to rape and murder an unspecified victim.

"The subject was determined to be 100 % capable of violence and a flight risk," Saunders said. "Reports indicated that the subject had killed multiple animals and was preparing to move to a human target."

With that information, Saunders was tasked with locating the subject before he could hurt someone. FDLE agents were unable to locate the person at his home and had no leads as to his whereabouts.

"With time running out, the agents relied on me to use multiple investigative techniques to locate the subject," Saunders said. "After several tense hours, I was able to determine that the subject was at a hotel."

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Some of the techniques Saunders utilized included extensive queries of analytical and open source databases. After the subject was located, it was revealed that he had conducted several trial runs, including following a woman to her car while carrying a hammer.

“Our criminal intelligence analysts work tirelessly to analyze data, connect the dots and provide invaluable actionable intelligence to investigators to prevent and solve crime," Kriegsman said. "Our Crime and Laboratory analysts are dedicated public servants that should be recognized for the great work they do day in and day out to keep our communities safe.”

Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @johnalbertorres.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Crime analysts do unsung investigative police work