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St. Pete Police Report 7 Break-Ins At Churches

News Channel 8 photo by KATY HENNIG

Trinity United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, the most recent church to be hit, Pastor Gay Bosley-Mitchell points out that the burglars chopped through the door to get in.

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By YOLANDA FERNANDEZ | News Channel 8

Published: December 16, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - This time of year it's not unusual to turn to a church for help, but St. Petersburg police say burglars are targeting churches for fast cash.

In the past six weeks, robbers broke into churches seven times, making off with cash and expensive electronics, police said.

All the churches are clustered on the West side of St. Petersburg, within 15 blocks of Central Avenue and 49th Street.

At least one church, Elim Seventh-day Adventist Church, was hit twice, detectives said.

In most cases, the robbers have been striking on weekend nights, entering through windows or back doors, police said.

The most recent break-in was Wednesday evening at Trinity United Church of Christ. The burglars climbed a black iron gate securing the church courtyard, chopped through the lock of the office door and ransacked the room.

Pastor Gaye Bosley-Mitchell said the worst part is that robbers found the master keys and used them to search every building and room on the property. She knows that, she said, "because virtually every drawer, every cupboard, every closet, every maintenance closet, everything you could possibly imagine that you could pull out, was pulled out."

She said the robbers made off with about $300 cash the congregation donated for the annual Christmas dinner. The dinner was canceled.

Bosley-Mitchell said repairs and new locks on all church buildings will cost $5,000.

Police are urging churches not to leave cash in the buildings overnight and to tighten security. They say the robberies could be related and don't think it was the work of children.

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