Two juveniles face burglary, mischief charges in connection to church vandalism investigation

LAWRENCE CO., Ala. (WAFF) - UPDATE (January 25 at 11:30 a.m.): The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office announced two juveniles are facing charges related to the investigation of vandalism at New Antioch Church last Friday.

In a statement, investigators say “the male juveniles ages 13 and 15 broke into the church and caused thousands of dollars in damages.”

The two male juveniles face the following charges:

Third-degree burglary
First-degree criminal mischief
Theft of property

Read the rest of the statement below:

Sheriff Sanders says the juveniles’ broke windows, Tv’s, copy machines, audio/video equipment, overturned bookshelves, damaged furniture amongst other things. According to statements by the juveniles they also stole a wheelchair from the church. Sheriff Sanders says tips from the public was a major factor in apprehension of the persons responsible for this crime. Tips were reported to the New Antioch Church and to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators working with Lawrence County School Resource Officers were able to use video evidence obtained from the church to match up with a list of names provided by the tips to identify the juveniles. One juvenile was turned over to Juvenile Probation Office (JPO) yesterday January 24 and the other Juvenile was turned over to JPO today January 25. Both juveniles that were turned over to Juvenile Probation Office are facing charges of Burglary 3dr degree, Criminal Mischief 1st degree and Theft of Property for stealing a wheelchair.

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is asking the community if they have any information on who vandalized a local church.

LCSO says deputies and investigators responded to a call at New Antioch Church on County Road 217 Friday. They discovered the church had been broken into and vandalized, sustaining several thousand dollars of damage, according to the sheriff’s office.