SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Police apprehended a man who allegedly robbed three banks in Santa Clara, Calif., after testing saliva found on a discarded mask for DNA.

Using the genetic material from the mask, they issued a warrant not for an individual, but for whoever matched the DNA profile, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported Sunday. Last week, authorities arrested Froilan Alix Roldan, a 28-year-old California resident, because his DNA -- collected after he served a brief prison stint for domestic violence -- was a match.

Roldan now faces up to 20 years in prison on bank robbery charges, the newspaper said.

The so-called Respirator Robber succeeded in the same style of heist three times over four years, running into the same Bank of America wielding a gun and wearing the painter's mask that earned him his nickname.

After the third robbery in 2004, investigators -- faced with no strong leads -- feared the three-year statute of limitations on the crimes would expire before the perpetrator was ever found so they issued the DNA warrant.