ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
NOTE: below
AN UNHOLY THIEF is picking on Methodist congregations - and may have been thwarted at a Baptist church.
A brash thief is walking into Roanoke Valley churches during worship services and making off with cash and credit cards from choir members and others who leave purses and wallets unattended.
Three United Methodist churches have been hit in the past three weeks, apparently by the same person, according to Roanoke Valley law enforcement officers.
The thief might have been foiled in one attempt at a Baptist church when an off-duty police officer encountered him in the parking lot.
More than a half-dozen choir members at Bonsack United Methodist Church were victimized Sunday in the most recent episode, said Officer Tom Kincaid of the Roanoke County Police Department.
As choir members sang during the morning worship service, someone entered the choir room, rifled purses and took a wallet from a man's jacket. Although people in a nearby room heard noises, they suspected nothing, said the Rev. John Ashley, the church's pastor.
The choir room normally is locked during services, Ashley said, but apparently was open - and its key was missing - Sunday.
Two church members reported seeing a man leaving the building and getting into a small, white car.
His description - and that of the car - matched that of a man seen by Detective Sgt. Roger Robinson last week at his church, Green Ridge Baptist.
Robinson said he was struck by the description after reading the report of the Bonsack theft. He had offered to help a man with the same kind of car during a Wednesday evening service at Green Ridge Baptist.
The man had a ready story to explain his presence, Robinson said: He asked about a church bingo game. When told there was no game, he calmly got back into his car and slowly drove away. Robinson said it was too dark for him to get a license number.
A man fitting the same description reportedly has been confronted inside other churches and has left after asking about a nonexistent meeting. "He is calm, cool and collected," Robinson said.
The thief may be responsible for a series of similar burglaries about a year ago for which no leads ever developed, the detective said.
Although the thief has taken credit cards as well as cash, he has yet to use any of the traceable cards, Robinson said. He may be saving the cards, destroying them, or shipping them out of the area to be used or sold elsewhere.
"We're hoping if we can get the word out, maybe someone would have seen him and thought he was suspicious and taken a license number down," Robinson said.
Besides the Bonsack and Green Ridge churches, Raleigh Court United Methodist - where the choir room was entered - and South Roanoke United Methodist - where a purse was taken from the pastor's study - were hit.
United Methodist pastors in the Roanoke District were warned about the incidents this week and alerted to take precautions. Those include locking choir rooms and other places where members' valuables may be stored during services, having ushers make frequent patrols of hallways during worship times, and making sure that nursery and other workers outside the worship area keep their personal effects secure.
Anyone witnessing a theft in progress should call 911, Robinson said. Those with information about the crimes may call the Roanoke County Police Department's detective division at 561-8099 or the dispatcher at 561-8036.
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