ATLANTA — Police are trying to identify a man who broke into a southwest Atlanta church late at night last week and stole a computer laptop and other valuables.
“A lot of churches are considered soft targets. And a lot of perpetrators don’t think about churches having security,” said security specialist Marrion Simms, who directs security for the Ben Hill United Methodist Church on Fairburn Road.
He showed Channel 2’s Tom Regan video of the break in early in the morning of Jan. 7. It shows the suspect ransacking church offices to look for anything of value.
“When people are look for something to pawn or steal, they don’t care what it is, they’re just scavenging,” said Simms.
The video shows the man throw a hard object to smash the glass windows of church office doors to get in.
“That’s where he took a laptop, in that blue bag that he has there,” said Simms.
The man placed other stolen goods into a trash can as he went from one office to another. Simms estimates he was in the church for 20 to 30 minutes and walked out holding a large garbage bag.
“That’s him exiting in the hallway with the stolen goods,” said Simms.
A church leader who spoke with an Atlanta Police detective investigating the burglary says he told her they are investigating at least eight church burglaries since Jan. 1. Burglars may believe they are more likely to find holiday donations of gifts, cash and checks in church buildings after Christmas.
“The concept that people don’t have the sanctity and respect for the church is the issue,” said Simms.
The security specialist says the burglar left something behind that may help police identify him.
“You can see he’s eating a fruit cup that he got out of one of the refrigerators. He threw it on the ground, so I took that as evidence and gave it to APD,” said Simms.
Simms, a minister, says he consults with churches to help they bolster security to guard against burglaries and violent crimes.
“We try to teach the church to be aware and be vigilant. We live in different times now,” said Simms.
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