Church burglary suspect arrested

The Maricopa Police Department arrested a 16-year-old boy Thursday for burglarizing Our Lady of Grace Parish and a local residence.

Police Chief Steven Stahl said the arrest is a step in the right direction to get police and community working together to solve a crime.

“We need brave community members to step up and tell us what’s happening when they suspect a crime,” he said. “The person who called us thought, ‘Hey, this is kind of weird.’ In retrospect, the person buying the computer for $60 should have thought that was weird, too.”

At 6:20 a.m. Thursday, officers responded to the church 45295 W. Honeycutt Ave. in reference to a burglary.

Using evidence located on scene and video surveillance footage, officers were able to broadcast a description of a male subject. Only a laptop computer was reported stolen.

Later that morning, officers responded to a suspicious activity call where a subject described by the caller fit the description of the person wanted in the church burglary.

When MPD arrived, the suspect had left, but officers were able to recover evidence related to the church burglary.

The suspect was located later during a second follow-up call to the area. He was arrested for an unrelated charge of marijuana possession. During an interview, the juvenile admitted his involvement in the church burglary.

The stolen laptop, which had been sold for $60, was recovered and booked into evidence. The residential burglary items were recovered and returned to the owner.

The juvenile was charged with suspicion of burglary, trafficking in stolen property and possession of marijuana. He was booked into the Pinal County Juvenile Detention Center.

MPD would like to remind the community:

• Alert citizens phoning in suspicious activity can make a difference.
• If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

To report suspicious activity, call MPD at 520-316-6800 or Silent Witness at 520-316-6900.