This takes robbing the collection plate to a different level. Police officers in Lagrange, Illinois hid inside of St. Francis Xavier Church because of suspicions that someone was robbing the donation boxes and arrested Daniel S. Blubaugh, 31, after he was caught in the act, reports the Chicago Tribune:
[Police] would not say how Blubaugh got into the church at 120 N. Spring Ave. or where the officers were hiding.
“We don’t want anyone to think, ‘If I am going to do this, this is where I should look (for officers),” Fulla said.
Blubaugh is accused of taking $79 from the boxes on Monday. Police do not know how much was taken in previous thefts, Fulla said.
Blubaugh is charged with “burglary in a place of worship, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest” according to the Tribune. He stands accused of stealing $79 from the donation boxes.
Unfortunately robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a new occurrence.Last year, Stephen Ernest Wing Jr., 19 and Andrew Phillip Conteh, 18, robbed Lord Ministry Church in Woodbridge, Virginia at gunpoint while the donations and tithes were being counted for the day. They were charged with abduction, robbery and use of a firearm in commission of felony, reports Cocorioko.com.
In 1986, John J. Cellura, 58, pleaded no contest to stealing more than $5,000 dollars from the collection plates of St. Monica Catholic Church in Cleveland, Ohio in one of the most blatant cases to date. Cellura is suspected of stealing over $250,000 over the years, while faithfully each week, putting $5 in the collection plate.
We’re not sure what’s going on here, but before stealing from a church, maybe these men would have been better off asking for assistance. Helping those in need is, allegedly, is one of the main functions of the church. They’ll have plenty of time to pray over it in jail.
