Local churches struggle with vandalism, petty theft

Dec. 25—The crimes fueling many business owners' ire these days — vandalism, petty theft and the like — have also struck Kern's religious institutions, typically considered untouchable because of their sacrosanct status.

Worship centers of every stripe are voicing concerns about vandals and thieves striking their sacred land and changing the definition of churchgoing habits. Though usually minor in nature, these crimes leave a lasting impact on congregants seeking respite from an often overwhelming daily life.

"You feel violated," said the pastor of Mill Creek Christian Church, Mike Sutherland. "This is supposed to be a sanctuary."

Safety concerns

A man broke into Mill Creek Christian Church and began living in the basement, Sutherland said. Thieves stole sound equipment used during the pandemic to livestream sermons, he added.

Some of the thefts can be perplexing because they target items that are valuable only to their owners. A robe Sutherland wore for 20 years — the entirety of his ministry career — was pilfered, he said, and so was a Lent banner made by a local congregant 30 to 40 years ago.

"I was crushed," Sutherland said. "And I had to tell a woman that's in her late 80s that her work had been taken."

Trespassers on holy grounds extend outside downtown Bakersfield.

Locked donation boxes became a prime target for thieves at some Sikh temples, said Gurinder Singh Basra, secretary at Guru Angad Darbar. He's also seen someone take a propane gas tank during daylight hours this year while people worked inside Guru Angad Darbar.

Basra noted though the robbery could have quickly become more serious: What if someone walked by while the crime unfolded?

"To me, it's a big crime," Basra said of the stolen tank.

Other incidents hitting local churches provide no monetary gain for the perpetrator but burden churches with hefty costs.

Beautiful stained-glass windows at First Presbyterian Church were shattered this year, Director of Operations John Bilotta said.

Other instances happen with "regularity" — damaged sprinkler systems, broken plant pots, dismantled power boxes and stolen catalytic converters, he added.

For Bilotta, the frequency of destruction has led to resignation.

"The price you pay for being downtown is homelessness, vandalism," he said.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church had a nonfunctional amplifier stolen within the last two weeks. Thieves smashed congregants' car windows and took backpacks as well, said the church's pastor, Dawn Wilder.

Wilder added the church has increased security. She installed a Ring doorbell equipped with video cameras to catch perpetrators.

But when one is installed, the doorbell is broken by vandals, she said. Wilder estimates she's bought four such products in the past year.

Rampant crime contributed to one downtown religious institution deciding to sell its property this month. B'nai Jacob accepted a $995,000 offer from local developer Sage Equities, which plans to build a 51-unit rental community at the site.

B'nai Jacob board secretary Dian Olmstead noted the air conditioner was stripped of its copper about six years ago, and lighting was smashed about three years ago. But more troublesome are the safety concerns regarding homeless people.

Olmstead once was walking into B'nai Jacob when she saw a man stirring a pot hovering over a flame.

"I don't think it was soup," Olmstead added. "That's why we moved."

Bishop James Clemmons at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has experienced similar thefts along Panorama Drive. He said catalytic converters were stolen and car windows were smashed for the purpose of stealing purses while people worshipped on Sunday.

Trespassers infiltrated the same building about 10 times this year, Clemmons estimated.

A person defecated once in the church and stole "small items," he added.

"I've been doing this since '82 and we never got broken into," Clemmons said. "It's just getting worse and worse and worse."

A darker turn

Some crimes directed toward churches have taken a darker turn.

The New Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal church in Delano was targeted with three separate bouts of racial hate crimes this year.

A suspect scrawled a highly offensive racial slur on furniture, walls and the building of the roughly 80-year-old congregation. The repeated attacks, starting in August and ending in November, left worshippers unsettled, Pastor Bill Hence said.

"It's going to take a little while for that to go away," Hence added. "That's probably the biggest damage he's done."

Suspect Kyle Lewis Sison has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of vandalizing a church because of race, vandalism costing $400 or more and a misdemeanor of violating civil rights. Police found a Nazi flag, armbands, stickers and pins at his house, according to Delano Police Department reports filed in Kern County Superior Court.

The first time the incident happened, disbelief arose within Hence, who's been preaching for two years at Delano AME. He put up video cameras to enhance security and caught a suspect on camera, which he said helped police identify and arrest Sison.

Sison denied during his interview with Delano police that it was him in the footage, and initially he said it could be someone who looks like him and was wearing his clothing. Then he said it was a clone, according to the court documents.

"It turns out, though, that if you're missing a body part, even just a small body part, and you put regenerative resurrection in medicine at the body part, you can regrow a new person," Sison told police, according to the court documents.

Racial hate crimes rarely targeted Delano AME during its 82-year existence, and Hence hasn't seen a similar attack unfold in his 10-year ministry career.

"Usually, churches are off-limits," Hence added.

Security systems

Security measures introduced by many religious institutions include assigning a member to patrol grounds to deter crime.

Mill Creek Christian Church contracts with O&A Security Services, while First Presbyterian does not. Downtown businesses contract with the private security service to supplement the work of the Bakersfield Police Department.

Sutherland noted crime incidents at the church dropped since it contracted O&A's help, increasing lighting and having more people frequenting the grounds.

Bilotta at First Presbyterian said the campus is just too large to have someone watching over the property overnight. The church installed plexiglass over more expensive windows to prevent any future damage.

Wilder, at Emmanuel Lutheran, is also contemplating bumping up security patrols and cameras.

Clemmons installed laser beams crisscrossing over yards, motion sensors and 15 high-resolution cameras over his property to ward off trespassers. Even if someone does manage to sneak past these security measures, a loud alarm scares perpetrators if they infiltrate the building.

Many church leaders also said police either rarely respond to their calls for service or never help. Sutherland added that the BPD has promptly responded to the church's requests for help and dished vital pointers to keep property safe.

Residents should report crimes because it helps officers plan their patrols around highly impacted areas and understand the modus operandi of culprits, BPD spokesman Sgt. Robert Pair wrote in an email. Acquiring a list of stolen items also can help to return items to their owner if they are found, he added.

But the BPD doesn't have enough officers to send to every single property crime that's not in progress if there's a "high-level" offense happening simultaneously, Pair wrote.

If a catalytic converter was stolen in the past hour, that call will not get an immediate response, Pair wrote. But a report of watching someone actively slice away at that car part will get a faster response, he added.

"If you submit a report, and are inquiring about the status, contact the Bakersfield Police Department investigations division and ask to speak to the assigned detective," Pair wrote. "Everyone in this community is frustrated by the theft levels, including officers of the police department."

Evolving church norms

Some churches have resigned themselves to erecting gates around their property.

That's what Sutherland did, though he said it's not an ideal situation. He preaches about erasing the divide between "us and them," but there's little choice when children roam around the family-oriented church, he said. There's a fine line to tread between keeping congregants safe and offering the site as a haven for those less fortunate.

"You just feel like, 'This isn't what I thought church was supposed to be about,'" Sutherland said.

Wilder at Emmanuel Lutheran hasn't cloistered behind metal gates.

"As a congregation ... (we) have chosen not to be so protectionist of things that the church itself seems uninviting," she said. "We are not putting up walls around everything ... . Either this is a place of welcome or not."

But, they are not being naive about safety, she added.

Despite the highly advanced security measures, Clemmons is contemplating erecting a fence around the property. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on South Real Road created a fence and has someone manning doors, he added.

"It's not safe anywhere, anymore, basically," Clemmons said.

Ishani Desai can be reached at 661-395-7417. Follow her on Twitter: @_ishanidesai.