The burglaries of four Tullahoma churches are under investigation by Tullahoma Police.
Thieves entered and vandalized buildings belonging to Kings Cross Church on Turkey Creek Road, Trinity Lutheran Church on Wilson Avenue, Faith Lutheran on Bragg Circle, and Westside Nazarene Church on Westside Drive.
Police went to Kings Cross Church after the activation of a burglar alarm. When officers arrived they found the siding had been peeled back on the building. Several police officers arrived and covered all possible exits of the building. An individual with the church arrived, and after police made sure there was no one inside the building, they entered the building to determine if anything had been taken. The officers found that the vestment had been knocked over and a wall had been damaged where the thieves attempted to enter an interior office. According to a report by Officer Chris Coe, no money was taken. However, there was some $750 in damage to the interior and exterior walls.
When the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church arrived at the church Monday morning, he found several doors had been pried open during the night. The pastor reported to Tullahoma Police Officer Jim Tate that thieves entered the building through an unlocked door of the A-frame building, entered a hallway, and pried open a door on the left side of the building. The thieves damaged two sets of double doors and six single doors in a hall of the church. All of the doors were damaged beyond repair.
The pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, Martin Nutter, reported to Officer Tate that someone had pried open the back kitchen door and entered the building. The thieves then went to the church office and took a small gray metal lock box from the secretary’s desk. The box contained $50 in change and four credit cards from Office Max, Kroger, Lowe’s, and Walmart. The officer’s report states that the thieves heavily damaged a door to a supply room.
Tullahoma Police Officer Samuel Campbell was dispatched to Westside Church of the Nazarene on Westside Drive Monday morning around 1:45 a.m. due to the activation of a burglar alarm.
When the officer arrived he found a rear door had been broken into.
Robert McBee of the church told the officer that nothing had been taken from the building.
Tullahoma Police investigators are already investigating break-ins at three other churches. Last month, thieves burglarized Cedar Lane Church of Christ, Covenant Presbyterian Church on Highway 55 and St. Paul’s Catholic Church.
Anyone with information on the recent church break-ins is urged to contact Tullahoma Crime Stoppers at 931-461-8888.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.-Tullahoma News-
