City and county law enforcement investigating church break-ins

The New Albany Police Department and Union County Sheriff’s Departments are investigating two church burglaries that occurred late Friday or early Saturday.

This is the door kicked in at the Blue Springs church, hidden from view from the road.

In the county, Sheriff Jimmy Edwards said someone kicked in the back door at Blue Springs Baptist Church, causing considerable damage, taking two television sets and from $500 to $1,000, mostly in a large bucket of donated change.

The suspects kicked in several interior doors, ransacked the pastor’s study and also got two video recorders. The church has surveillance cameras but the thieves found and took the recorder for that as well.

One of the interior doors kicked in at the Blue Springs church.

They have no suspects so far.

Police Chief Chris Robertson said he doesn’t think the break-in at Moss Hill Baptist Church is connected to the county case. “It was more amateurism, maybe kids,” he said.

The suspect or suspects did kick in a door but only took two Peavey-type loudspeakers. Robertson said they did have some evidence and will be looking to see if the speakers show up at a pawn shop or anywhere Monday.

Robertson said he heard there was a church burglary in Pontotoc overnight as well. While it could be connected to the Blue Springs break-in, he knew no details about it.

There was also an unconfirmed report from a church member that a church van apparently from Pontotoc County had been found wrecked and abandoned in the Blue Springs area with speculation only that it might have been used in the burglaries.

The Moss Hill church is in an area with several housing and apartment units that has seen burglary problems in the past.