Weekly Church Crime News 01/02/2023

(December 29) Man’s Truck Stolen While He Was Clearing Snow In Minneapolis Church Parking Lot

A Minneapolis man known for helping the community, now needs your help. Ed Irwin was shoveling the snow at Mother Saint James AME Church in Minneapolis when someone stole his truck earlier this month.

The loss of the truck and snow equipment is around $70,000.

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(December 28) Children's Theater Director Jeff Church Found Dead Following Abuse Allegations

The Kansas City Star has reported that Jeff Church, The Coterie Theatre's artistic director for more than 30 years, was found dead this weekend after he had resigned from his position amid sexual assault allegations.

The cause of death has not yet been released by the medical examiner's office.

Church's death followed days after social media posts alleging that Church was responsible for sexually assaulting young men. Following the allegations, The Coterie Theatre posted a statement that it had accepted Church's resignation and was committed to investigating the allegations.

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(December 28) Colorado Bomber Of Union Hall Tried To Blow Up Church Before Killing Wife And Self

A Colorado electrician involved in a Christmas Day murder-suicide was also the suspect behind a labor union office bombing that morning, along with the subsequently attempted bombing of a church.

Enoch Apodaca, 46, fired a shotgun into the back of his wife’s head and then turned the gun on himself after placing three pipe bombs inside a Jehovah’s Witness kingdom hall. Police had known for more than a year that Apodaca had an obsession with making bombs and even threatened to kill his wife.

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(December 28) Burglars Steal From Church Donation Bin: Chicago Police

CHICAGO, IL — There was no sign of the Christmas spirit when a church was burglarized Monday in Lincoln Park, according to police.

The incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1010 W. Webster Ave., police said. The thief or thieves pried open a window to enter the church and stole cash from a safe and donation bin before fleeeing, according to police.

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(December 28) Karnataka Church Vandalised Days After Christmas, Baby Jesus Statue Damaged

The vandalisation of St Mary Church at Mysuru's Periyapatna comes two days after Christmas. The assailants also damaged the statue of baby Jesus at the church. 

The St Mary's Church at Mysuru's Periyapatna has been vandalised two days after Christmas. Several police teams have been formed to trace the accused who are on the run. 

Police are also checking the footage captured by CCTV cameras installed on the premises of the church to identify the accused.

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(December 27) Burglar Steals Donations From Lincoln Park Church in Overnight Theft, Police Say

An overnight burglary was reported at a Lincoln Park church this week, with the thief taking an unspecified amount of money from the donation bin. According to police, the theft occurred at the St. Vincent de Paul Parish, located in the 1000 block of West Webster, overnight between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The burglar pried open a window sometime between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Once inside, the thief took an unknown amount of money from a safe within the church, and also stole money from a donation bin before fleeing the scene.

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(December 25) 2 Dead After Shooting At Jehovah’s Witness Congregation In Thornton

Police have confirmed that two people are dead after a shooting at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Thornton on Christmas morning. Multiple agencies -- including the Adams County Sheriff Department’s Hazardous Materials Unit -- responded to the scene early Sunday.

Thornton Police responded around 9 o'clock Christmas morning to a structure fire at Kingdom Hall. There, two individuals -- who were married and former members of the congregation -- were found dead after a woman was shot and killed by her husband. He then shot and killed himself.

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(December 24) Las Vegas Pastor Accused Of Molesting Young Girl During Boat Trip To Lake Mohave

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas pastor has been accused of molesting a girl under the age of 14 during a boat trip to Lake Mohave, according to the arrest report. Isaac Luna-Valencia, 48, is facing charges of two counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14 and kidnapping of a minor.

On Dec. 5 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a report from Child Protective Services that a child had disclosed that she was molested by her church pastor during a boat trip to Lake Mohave in June 2021, according to the arrest report.

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(December 23) Christmas Theft: Baby Jesus Stolen From Nativity Scene At Georgia Church

Police in Georgia have launched an investigation after statues of a local church display depicting the birth of Jesus Christ were stolen. Officers were responding to St. Michael Catholic Church on Tybee Island Saturday over reports of a theft.

Someone had broken the lock on a box placed in front of the church that contained a scene of the nativity of Jesus and stolen all of the statues except for the shepherds and wise men, staff members told police.

Among the pieces taken were statues of baby Jesus's creche, Mary, the angel Gloria, as well as several animals, according to a graphic shared by the TIPD.

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(December 23) Mormon Church Sex Abuse Video

An undated photo made available by the Crawford County Sheriff shows Mykaela Kristine Patterson, 25. She was a substitute teacher in rural Robinson, Ill', and pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. 

Prosecutors said a search of her electronic devices revealed more than 3,000 videos and images, including several dozen depicting infants. She was arrested February 2022 and is awaiting sentencing as of December 2022.

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