Two 14-year-olds filming a student documentary helped catch a man stealing money from a church's donation boxes, police said.
John Scimeca, 45, was charged with two counts of larceny and one count of possession of burglar's tools in the thefts from Our Lady of Lourdes Church, authorities said.
The students were working on their documentary at the church Nov. 13 when they recorded a man allegedly tampering with a donation box. They turned the tape over to police.
A week later, the father of one of the students saw what appeared to be the same man enter the church, police said. He grabbed a camcorder from his car, returned to the church and saw the man take bills from two donation boxes, they said.
The man, realizing he was being filmed, threatened to beat up the father, authorities said.
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1125churchtheft25-ON.html
John Scimeca, 45, was charged with two counts of larceny and one count of possession of burglar's tools in the thefts from Our Lady of Lourdes Church, authorities said.
The students were working on their documentary at the church Nov. 13 when they recorded a man allegedly tampering with a donation box. They turned the tape over to police.
A week later, the father of one of the students saw what appeared to be the same man enter the church, police said. He grabbed a camcorder from his car, returned to the church and saw the man take bills from two donation boxes, they said.
The man, realizing he was being filmed, threatened to beat up the father, authorities said.
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1125churchtheft25-ON.html