ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- DNA from a cigarette led detectives to an armed robbery suspect more than a year after the crime.

Surveillance video shows the man threw away a cigarette just moments before robbing the CVS on University Boulevard and Goldenrod Road in January of 2007. During the robbery he threatened to kill an employee.

The trail for the robber went cold until an FDLE lab found DNA on the cigarette belonged to convicted felon Luis Martinez.

"Memories fade, witnesses and victims disappear. It gets harder as time goes on to track them down," said Cpl.Tim Farmer, of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

FDLE's Orlando lab processes evidence for nearly 22,000 cases a year. With a $1 million budget cut looming, there are concerns the wait for results could grow longer.

With the existing backlog, the average case already takes 100 days to turn.