Local man arrested while prowling about outside of a Lawrenceburg church

A Lawrenceburg man was recently taken into custody by law enforcement officers after they received complaints of a burglary in progress at a local church.

The incident occurred at Meadowview Baptist Church on Kennedy Street at around 3:00 a.m. Sunday. Callers reported that two men, wearing dark clothes and riding bicycles, were on the property and that they had heard noises “as if they were trying to get inside.” They reported hearing one of the men telling the other to “hurry up.”

When they arrived at the scene, officers report that they located twenty-six year old Brandon Lee Valentine, of 1102 Hickory Street, walking off of the church property. He told officers that he was “just hanging out” with a friend and another person whose name he did not know.

Officers reported finding pry marks around one of the doors in the area where the men had been seen along with a backpack that contained syringes. At that point, they report that Valentine changed his statement, saying that “he had not been on the property and had no idea who else was there.”

Valentine was arrested on a charge of criminal trespassing and transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where he was held under a $5,000 bond. He was scheduled an appearance in General Sessions Court in early November.