Weekly Church Crime News 12/19/2022
Dec 19, 2022(December 15) Milwaukee Burglary Near Howard And Clement; 2 Sought
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying and locating two people wanted in a burglary that occurred on Dec. 3 near Howard and Clement shortly before 5 p.m.
Police described one as a white male wearing sunglasses, a black knit hat, a black Raiders jacket, black pants with a logo on the left leg, black and white shoes and a black backpack.
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(December 15) Miami-Dade Pastor Accused Of Stealing Money, Home Belonging To Elderly Couple
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade preacher has been accused of preying on an elderly couple in her congregation, allegedly stealing their life savings and their home. That woman, 63-year-old Yvonne Hampton-Barley, is already out of jail.
She is accused of befriending the couple and using her position as a church pastor in an deceptive scheme to steal from them.
State records show Barley is the operator of True Spirit of Christ Our Redeemer Ministries, a church that on paper is run out of a home-like structure in Opa-locka, something that came as a surprise to neighbors.
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(December 15) Man Charged Following Church Burglary
NEWBERRY COUNTY — The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office have charged 34-year-old Matthew Christopher Temples for burglary second degree and possession of cocaine first offense.
The Newberry Sheriff’s Office received a report on December 14, 2022, that a local church on C R Koon Highway had been burglarized. A laptop, guitar, money and other small items were taken, according to the NCSO. The pastor was able to provide security camera footage showing a white/male suspect coming up to the church and going inside the church.
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(December 14) Woman Arrested, Accused of Stealing Mail From North Texas Churches
A Houston woman is in custody, accused in several cases of mail thefts from churches in Flower Mound, police say. Flower Mound police on Monday detailed the arrest and investigation into multiple reports of mail thefts and check forgeries made in early November.
According to police, an investigation led officers to identify 30-year-old Graciela Carolina Munoz-Paz of Houston as a suspect. She was taken into custody Nov. 17 after being spotted at a local church and pulled over.
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(December 14) Tennessee Man Charged With Stealing Nearly $200,000 From Church Where He Worked
A Tennessee man has been charged with stealing nearly $200,000 from a church where he worked over a two-year period, authorities said Tuesday.
Daniel Meadows, 32, had access to the funds at the Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville as part of his job, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release following an investigation.
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(December 14) Suspect Confesses After Pine Forest Baptist Church Burglary, Church Pressing Charges
ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — A suspect wanted for allegedly burglarizing the Pine Forest Baptist Church near Vidor has confessed. Orange County Sheriff Jimmy Lane Mooney tells 12News the suspect originally caught on camera confessed and returned the $500 laptop.
The church plans to press charges, according to Mooney.
The break-in happened on November 30, 2022 at 3 p.m., not long after the Orange Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Old First Orange Baptist Church both fell victim.
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(December 13) Virginia Church Youth Group Leader Convicted Of Sexual Abuse - WBTW
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A federal judge convicted a Norfolk man who had served as a church youth group leader Monday on charges of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, according to the Department of Justice.
Charles Willoughby III, 39, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison when he is expected to be sentenced on April 19, 2023.
Willoughby, according to court records and trial evidence, served as a youth group leader at New Life Worship Center in Norfolk from 2006 to 2012, where he routinely groomed minor teen girls who were part of its youth program in order to sexually abuse them.
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(December 10) Two Arrested In Relation To Church Theft
The Walker County Sheriff's Office reported on Friday that a suspect in a theft at an area church was arrested, along with another person who may be involved in the crime.
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(December 10) Man Wanted For Killing Teenager In Church Parking Lot
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Metro Nashville Police Department issued a homicide warrant for a man they believe shot and killed a 19-year-old in a church parking lot last month.
On Friday, November 25, a call was placed around 4:15 p.m. to MNPD dispatch about a shooting at New Life Seventh Day Adventist Church. Antonio Rudolfo was shot multiple times following an altercation with another person. He later died from his injuries.
MNPD has identified 21-year-old Joe DeLeon as the shooter and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Anyone with information on DeLeon or his whereabouts is asked to call 615-742-7463.
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(December 9) AME Church Shifts Blame For Missing $90M, Plan Admin Says
An administrator of the African Methodist Episcopal Church;s retirement plan says the church is attempting to blame it for the church's own mismanagement of a pastor who allegedle embezzled $90 million from the plan.
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