2 Men Burglarized 10 Churches In Montgomery Co. Area: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — Two men have been arrested for burglarizing 10 churches throughout southeastern Pennsylvania over the period of about a month, including several in Montgomery County, officials announced on Friday. The pair stole everything from cash to TVs to communion trays, and caused significant damage to historic structures, officials said.

Gabriel Minnick, 21, and Semaj Howard, 20, both of Philadelphia, also stole several vehicles and sold stolen property, the district attorney's office said.

The incidents occurred from Feb. 20 to March 17 and targeted various denominations in Abington, Upper Moreland, Lower Moreland, Cheltenham, Lower Southampton, Upper Southampton and Philadelphia, according to police.

In most cases, Minnick and Howard used the same tactic, officials said.

Churches were broken into in the overnight hours, usually through a window accessible from the ground level, the district attorney's office said.

A wide variety of items were stolen including precious metals, safes, petty cash, televisions and other electronics. In one case, a 42-inch television was stolen from a church nursery. The pair also took $200 from a donations box, desktop computer, bottles of wine, silver communion tray, and more, according to authorities.

The pair then created online accounts to sell the items, police said.

Authorities used video surveillance to track down the suspects, eventually identifying Howard by a heart-shaped tattoo under his eye, the district attorney said. On March 19, the pair were arrested by Philadelphia police for driving a vehicle they had stolen from Cheltenham Township, authorities said. An investigation revealed they had also stolen two more vehicles, police said.

The churches burglarized included Elkins Park Presbyterian, Reformed Presbyterian Church and St. Michael the Archangel in Abington, Huntingdon Valley Methodist Church in Lower Moreland, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Cheltenham, Church of the Wonderful in Lower Southampton, Living Streams Evangelical Church in Upper Southampton, and Lehigh Baptist Church, Pennypack Baptist Church and Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

The pair were charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, institutional vandalism, criminal mischief, and related counts.

Bail for Minnick was set at $1 million, and bail for Howard was set at $750,000. Neither was able to post bail, and they were both taken to Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing is set for July 15.