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2 accused of stealing from churchgoers caught in act, charged

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Two people who stole from vehicles while parishioners attended services at several churches in Westmoreland County were caught in the act Sunday morning and are now facing charges, authorities said.

Police said their efforts to track down the thieves, identified as Frederick Stormer and Catherene Reed, began after a good Samaritan witnessed the pair stealing a purse and credit card from a parishioner’s car in the parking lot of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Latrobe.

"There was a message on the (answering) machine that someone had seen someone pulling on the door handles that Sunday morning,” said the Rev. Bill Schaefer, of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

The good Samaritan snapped a photo of the suspects’ car and its license plate. Police said they later learned the credit card stolen from the vehicle was used minutes later at a nearby Sunoco.

Authorities said following some detective work and a state police surveillance detail, which allegedly caught two people in the act, Stormer and Reed were arrested.

Officials said they soon learned about other reported thefts from church parking lots from Ligonier Alliance Church to St. Sylvester Church and St. James Church in New Alexandria.

"After Mass, (parishioners) went out to their cars and discovered they had been broken into,” said Bill D'Angelo of Saint James Church.

Church leaders who talked to Channel 11 News on Tuesday said even though theft is a crime, forgiveness is a virtue.

"No one had to steal anything from the car, all they had to do was ask us and we would’ve been willing to help them one way or the other,” D'Angelo said.

"Folks struggle and there are folks having a hard time right now, but that doesn't forgive the fact they broke a law and need to answer their crime,” Schaefer said.

Police said Stormer and Reed are also facing charges of endangering the welfare of children because Reed’s child was in the car when the two were allegedly committing the thefts.