Property Crime News 11/13/2023
Nov 13, 2023(November 08) North Portland Church Bus Stolen, Found Destroyed | Portland, Oregon
Grace Christian Fellowship has been in North Portland for decades. Senior Pastor Tony Gies says they do a lot of outreach in their community.
“We have quite a big ministry to the homeless community,” said Gies. “We have a clothing closet. We partner with George Middle School and have a food pantry together. We provide food three times a week to the middle school. We use the bus and take the people at Harvest Homes to run errands once a week to the grocery store and other places, events.”
He says with much of their ministry they use their bus, but on Sunday night someone stole it; the incident caught on surveillance camera. The footage shows someone in a hoodie walking up to the bus, getting the door open, and taking off in mere minutes.
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(November 06) California Cathedral Vandalized With Paint; Police Investigating As Possible Hate Crime | Stockton, California
The Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton, California, was vandalized on the morning of Nov. 5 with white paint splattered across the church’s signs and front doors, with law enforcement currently investigating if the vandalism constituted a hate crime against the church.
Stockton police described the vandalism as “white paint randomly applied to the front door area, a walkway, and landscaping area as well as a flatbed trailer parked.”
The vandalism is believed to have occurred around 5:45 a.m., according to police. Law enforcement will be investigating if the vandalism was a hate crime.
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(November 06) Religious Statues Vandalized On Staten Island: ‘It’s Really Horrible,’ Pastor Says | Staten Island, N.Y.
Police are investigating after two statues were vandalized at a Roman Catholic Church in West Brighton.
“It’s really horrible,” said Father Rhey Garcia, the pastor, about the desecration of the religious images. “It’s still under investigation and we don’t know if it’s a hate crime or just vandalism.”
The vandalism happened without warning, the pastor said.
“We were just so shocked to find this out on the first of November,” he said.
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(November 06) Lexington Church Fire Deemed 'Suspicious', Police Say | Lexington, N.C.
A church that caught on fire in Lexington is being deemed as "suspicious", according to police.
The Lexington Fire Department said Jesus Comes First Ministries caught fire during the Lexington Barbeque Festival on Oct.28.
A large portion of smoke was visible during the fire, and a second alarm went off.
Lexington police said the origin of the fire was found to be on the back porch of the church.
The fire also left the church without a food pantry.
The door was blown off, parts of the foundation were charred and crates that held food were melted. The pantry has smoke, water, and electrical damage inside.
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(November 04) Heavy Church Bell Stolen From Saints Peter & Paul In Soulard | St. Louis, MO
A historic, heavy church bell was stolen last week from the yard of the rectory next to Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis’ Soulard neighborhood.
Pastor Bruce Forman said the crime may have required two attempts, as if the thieves didn’t realize they were going to need equipment to remove the bell from the property.
Neighborhood residents showed 5 On Your Side where the bell had been located, in front of the rectory along 7th Street.
“It’s the first church bell from the first church, going back to 1849,” Forman said. “Somebody may be suspicious if they see it ... or somebody tries to sell it.”
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