NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A key piece of evidence in the "Wooded Rapist" case was taken from an unlikely place -- dirty dishes.

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When accused serial rapist Robert Jason Burdick ate at Tee Gee’s restaurant in LaVergne last week, he ordered the house specialty, according to the restaurant’s manager.

But when Burdick finished his meal and left, two men who had walked in behind Burdick approached manager Don Carter with an odd request: They wanted Burdick's spoon, fork, soup bowl and glass.

The men who made the request were undercover Brentwood police officers. They had been following Burdick ever since he'd been pulled over on a routine traffic stop days earlier.

"We were just honored to help," said Carter.

Carter said the officers said “to just leave things where it was at so we obliged (and) was more than happy to oblige.”

Police said Burdick had left behind DNA that matched crime scene evidence left by a person accused of assaulting women in at least three middle Tennessee counties.

The people at Tee Gees had gladly helped police make a large advance in the case.

"It just something that we were happy to be able to do," Carter said.