A Joyful Noise
Church's stolen instruments recovered
Reporter-News photo by Thomas Metthe Bethel Iglesia Unida Methodista members,
from left, Israel Pequeno, Eliseo Pequeno and Joe Flores tune up their instruments
before Wednesday evening's church service. The church was broken into and most o
f its musical instruments were stolen on Friday. Police recovered all of the instruments
and they were returned Wednesday shortly before the church's service.
Sunday church services were a little quieter than usual at Bethel Iglesia Methodista Unida.
Early Friday morning, a janitor discovered almost all the congregation's musical
instruments had been stolen -- more than $8,000 in guitars, amplifiers and accordions.
A piano and drums remained and members brought acoustic guitars, but the small church is
used to an upbeat time of worship.
Someone had broken through the back door the night before, a police report said, and
communion cups were scattered across the ground. Even the children's popsicles were taken.
"You can't help but get mad or get upset," said Juanita Anderson, a Sunday school teacher at
the congregation. "These people have no respect for the things of the Lord. Fear is the beginning
of wisdom, and these people have no fear."
The Rev. Fernando Sanchez, who began ministering to the congregation in July, told his church at
the corner of North 14th and Westmoreland streets that the matter rested in God's hands.
"I wanted to go deep and let them know that I know there are a lot of feelings around," Sanchez
said. "In the end, let us give that to God. Let us do our best and forgive."
Wednesday afternoon, just before the midweek service, Sanchez received a call from Abilene
Police Department detectives. All the instruments of worship were found at two pawn shops.
Just a day before, when APD detective Shad Phillips received the case, he wasn't sure it would
all be recovered. It was the third church burglary he had worked this year, and not all of the
instruments stolen from the other congregation -- which was hit twice -- were returned.
Later that day, before the 7 p.m. worship, Eliseo Pequeno sat in a metal folding chair on the
red-carpeted stage, tuning his newly returned 12-string acoustic guitar. His black cord ran to
an amplifier with the pawn ticket still attached.
"I think it's a good lesson for us to think about," Pequeno said of the theft. "There are other
churches who are worse off than we were."
Though there probably are congregations with more troubles, replacing the thousands of
dollars in equipment would have put a considerable dent in the church's finances.
A placard at the auditorium's front marked the church's record attendance of 80, but the
average attendance remained blank. The only Hispanic United Methodist congregation in
Abilene, its membership is now about 50.
"We struggle to give what we can to our church so we can survive," Anderson said. "It was
very upsetting."
Only three were in the audience Wednesday night. Pequeno led his bass player and lead
guitarist in a bouncing, Spanish version of "Blessed Assurance." Though the service is
often bilingual, the church sings in Spanish.
"It's part of our culture," Sanchez said. "It's who we are inside."
Taking the pulpit, Sanchez led the congregation in a reading of Psalm 103, verses one
through seven. In verse six the small gathering read together:
"Jehová es el que hace justicia Y derecho a todos los que padecen violencia."
It was a fitting verse for their recent experience with lawlessness: "The Lord works
righteousness and justice for all the oppressed."
A note from Detective Phillips:
I was already conducting an unrelated investigation where a generator was stolen
from a building. The victim located his generator in a local pawn shop and
I printed out a complete history of everything the suspect had pawned through
LeadsOnline. I noticed that she had also pawned numerous musical instruments
& equipment. A day or two later two church burglary cases were forwarded
to CID. I remembered the items on the print out. I then began matching the
listed stolen property from the case reports to the list I had printed out on the
previously mentioned suspect.
I contacted the church and they met me at the pawn shop where they positively
identified their property. The second church provided a few serial numbers
which matched up with the remaining items listed on the suspect’s pawn history
print out.
The subject who pawned the items has been interviewed and she has
provided the identity of the suspect who actually committed the burglary. He
was also captured on the pawn shop security video with the person who pawned
it.
Arrest warrants will be issued very soon.
Thanks,
Detective Shad Phillips
Abilene Police Department