Breaking Into A Church - Just Doesn't Seem Right

Church break-in prompts investigation
By JACQUELINE CAIN | Staff Writer
minews@mac.com

Milton police are investigating a break-in to St. Ann’s Parish that they said occurred sometime between 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17 and 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18.

When janitor Roger Reil arrived at the church on Tuesday morning, he noticed a door that leads from the outside of the building into the mechanical room had been forced open, said The Rev. John Feltz.

There is no doorway from the mechanical room into the main church building, but the intruder or intruders improvised: Reil discovered a two-and-a-half-foot hole in the drywall, big enough for someone to climb through, Feltz said.

Reil also noticed another door had been jimmied open, he added.

Church staff reported nothing missing at this time, so motivation for the break-in is unclear.

“Someone could have done it with intent to look around, or they could have done it for a place to sleep, or they could have done it to look for something to steal,” Milton Police Officer William Bosworth said.

Milton police are pursuing it as they would any burglary, based on the definition of burglary as “unlawful entrance with intent to commit further crimes,” said Det. Cpl. Paul Locke. In this instance, the “further crime” is vandalism, he said.

The church staff doesn’t have an estimate to repair the damage yet, but The Rev. John Feltz thinks it will cost several hundred dollars to repair all the doors, locks and drywall, he said.

“My first reaction is, ‘You shouldn’t have to lock a church,” Locke said. “But in this day and age, I guess you have to.”

This is the third time St. Ann’s has been broken into in recent years, Locke said.

The church has an alarm system installed, but it was not on the night of January 17.

Anyone with information regarding the break-in at St. Ann’s Parish is encouraged to call the Milton Police at 893-2424. Anonymous tips are received through the Champlain Valley CrimeStoppers toll free at 1-800-427-8477.