Church Pastor Charged with Involvement in Home Burglary

A pastor from the First Free Methodist Church in Smyrna was recently caught on video camera trying to burglarize the home of a church member. The information was released by the Smyrna Police Department.

The homeowner began to notice that on numerous occasions medications were going missing from the home. The victim also noticed that the burglaries took place whenever the homeowner was away from their home, so in order to catch the culprit a video camera was set up in the hopes of catching the suspect.

However, the images captured where not what the homeowner was expecting.

On July 4, 2011, the video camera showed the victim’s 55-year-old pastor at the rear door trying to manipulate the lock mechanisms before gaining entry to the home. After seeing the footage, the homeowner then contact Smyrna Police and filed a report.

As a result, an arrest warrant was issued with the suspect being notified of the warrant. Reporting to the police department he was then charged with aggravated burglary.

The police believe that the pastor may also have targeted other church members homes, but say that these members are hesitant to report the crimes to the police.

In this day and age it’s not a case of being shocked by the number of home burglaries being reported. What is shocking to learn is that someone considered a member of the community who is regarded as an honest being delivering the message of God was caught on camera unlawfully gaining entry to a church member’s home in order to steal from them.

The trust that was once there is no longer and won’t be gained back. However, while the video camera was a good idea at catching the intruder red handed, it is also worthwhile for homeowners to think about the safety measures they can put into place to ensure their safety should they find themselves confronted by an unwanted guest.

Nowadays, there are more homeowners turning their attention to Michigan pepper spray, simply because it is a non-lethal device and provides the instant results that people want when their safety may be in harm’s way.

No one wants their home to be burglarized or for them to feel like a victim in their own home, but by taking the necessary safety measures they can ensure this is not the case by making sure that they are always one step ahead of such a situation should it take place.