JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The new year started off on a bad note for a church in the North Shore neighborhood that was targeted by thieves.
It happened sometime after 3 a.m. at the Power of Connections Ministries, located on Norwood Avenue.
What the thieves managed to steal and how they pulled it off has the pastor shaking her head in disbelief.
There was no forced entry, and the pastor said the doors were locked after a New Year’s Eve service that ended at 3 a.m.
Once inside, the thieves managed to get into the ceiling to steal heavy pieces of equipment worth thousands of dollars.
Power of Connections Ministries pastor Patricia Guess said she got a disturbing phone call shortly after locking up the church and driving home early Tuesday morning.
“When they called us, they said, ‘You may want to call the police,’” Guess said. “I said, ‘For what?’ ‘Someone just broke into the church.’”
She said that when she came back to the church, it was evident that thieves had stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of audio-visual equipment.
“They had taken our subwoofer speakers,” Guess said. “They took the microphones. They took the switchboard, the keyboard, the stand the keyboard sits on, the receivers that go with the microphones. Anything technology is what they took.”
Guess said the thieves went as far as to stack furniture to get into the ceiling, where they had access to wiring that connected the equipment.
“There’s not a lot of stability for you to actually get up there yourself, so someone had to prop them and lift them up,” Guess said
Whoever perpetrated the crime knew exactly how to unwire the equipment without getting electrocuted.
“They took everything and disconnected all wires and connections, then dropped it out so they could remove everything,” Guess said.
She said there was no obvious forced entry, which leads her to believe someone involved may have had a key to get in. She also believes the thieves were familiar with the equipment that was stolen.
As the church tries to be a positive force in the neighborhood, Guess said the impact of this crime goes beyond the church walls.
“They don’t just take from our church. They take from our community that the church resides in,” Guess said
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to contact police.