Weekly Church Crime News 09/26/2022

(September 22) Former Holy Cross Catholic Church Official Arrested In Embezzlement Case In Vero Beach

VERO BEACH — A former parish administrator at Holy Cross Catholic Church was arrested Monday after police accused her of using nearly $550,000 of church donations over several years to pay off her personal lines of credit, according to records obtained Tuesday. Deborah Lynn True, 69, who has a listed address in Frederick, Colorado, was arrested on a charge of organized fraud over $50,000.

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(September 21) Multiple Windows Smashed During Burglary At Tongan United Methodist Church In Provo

PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — Several windows were smashed during a burglary at Provo's Tongan United Methodist Church. Provo City Police Department said the incident occurred at 1044 North Geneva Road on Monday. Multiple windows and property inside were discovered to be damaged. The cost of damage was unknown.

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(September 20) Two Charged After Causing Damage To Church Property

 (KNSI) — Two men have been charged after causing major damage to a church in Sauk Centre on Friday. According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the unidentified church just after 1:00 on Saturday afternoon. They spoke to two people there who told them someone had come in and tipped over a large font statue, damaging it and the carpet underneath. A large candle holder worth an estimated $1,500 to $2,000 was also damaged when it was knocked over.

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(September 19) Two Teens Killed In Shooting Across The Street From East-Side Church

 SAN ANTONIO — Two teenagers were killed in a shooting across the street from an east San Antonio church Sunday morning where a worship service was underway. It happened just before 11 a.m. on the 200 block of Noblewood near the Wheatley Heights Sports Complex. When officers arrived at the location, they found the two victims with life-threatening injuries inside a stolen car.

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(September 18) Brooklyn Pastor Lamor Whitehead, Who Was Robbed Of $400,000 In Jewelry During Live-Streamed Service, Grabs Woman By Her Neck, During Latest Service. 

This year, Brooklyn pastor Bishop Lamor Whitehead has been trending heavily. Back in April, he was robbed of $400,000 worth of jewelry that he had on, during a live-streamed church service. Now, he is going viral again, this time, for an altercation at his Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries church, in the Canarsie area of Brooklyn.

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(September 18) Pastor Charles Southall Of First Emmanuel Baptist Church Charged With Money Laundering

Charles Southall, the longtime pastor of First Emmanuel Baptist Church in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was charged Thursday with money laundering after he allegedly moved $100,000 from a bank account into a personal investment account, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The single-count charge came in a bill of information, which typically means that a defendant is cooperating with authorities.

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(September 17) Mother Killed Outside Daycare On Indy's West Side, Suspect Hurt In Shooting Involving Police

INDIANAPOLIS — The man suspected of fatally shooting a woman while she was dropping her children off at a daycare center and church on the city's west side was hurt during a shooting involving police. Around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Orlando Mithcell, 33, was injured in an officer-involved shooting near 10th Street and North Delaware Street in Downtown Indianapolis.

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(September 16) $4,660 Worth Of Items Stolen From Church, PSP

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Pennsylvania State Police say approximately $4,660 worth of electronics were stolen from a church in Northumberland County. According to state troopers, a burglary took place at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church on Schwaben Creek Road between September 12 at 9:30 p.m and September 13 at 4:00 p.m.

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(September 16) Realtor Charged With Stealing From Church

A well-known Georgetown realtor plans to plead guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud after he was found to have stolen $512,042 from the church at which he was serving as treasurer. Tackett is a co-owner with his wife, Connie, of Tackett Real Estate & Property Management. The court documents do not identify the church because it is cooperating with the federal investigation, but Tackett was treasurer at Victory Life Church in Georgetown.

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