Vandals Cause Extensive Damage At Lawrenceburg Church
Individuals who broke into a Lawrenceburg church overnight Friday vandalized a large portion of the building, causing extensive damages.
Pastor Rickey Wade filed a complaint with the Lawrenceburg Police Department Saturday regarding the crime. He reported that he had been checking Coleman United Methodist Church on North Military Avenue when he discovered that someone had thrown a brick through a pane of glass on a basement door. Once they gained entry the vandals roamed through all three floors of the building, leaving a path of damages in their wake.
Wade reported that a two-liter soft drink had been thrown onto the floor in the kitchen area. The culprits rummaged about in the freezer, then left it open. They went through second floor classrooms, overturning a TV and breaking items.
A glass coffee container had been smashed against a wall and a brick had been thrown through a window in the choir room. Lamps and floral arrangements had been knocked off tables, and pictures that were knocked off walls lay broken on the floor.
Wade reported that on the third floor the burglars took a fire extinguisher from a cabinet and discharged it in several classrooms, hallways, and in the eating area of the Fellowship Hall. They rummaged through a refrigerator, eating some sandwiches and tossing the remainder in a trash can.
Officers were able to obtain security video showing the individuals prowling about and discharging the fire extinguisher. The owner of a nearby business reported that he had noticed what appeared to be a flashlight in the Fellowship Hall around 11:00 or 12:00. He said it, “Looked like smoke or fog in the Fellowship Hall,” but that he had thought the building was being fumigated. Shortly afterwards he saw two persons exit through a back door and walk down an alleyway. He said both appeared to be carrying larger plastic items.
Loss and damages in the case were estimated at $11,410. Anyone who has information regarding the crime should contact the police department at 931-762-2276.
