Suspect arrested in church burglary

Callaway County Sheriff Office's patrol car
Callaway County Sheriff Office's patrol car

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a burglary at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Holts Summit, according to Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism.

Multiple items were also recovered Tuesday as a result of a joint investigation including Holts Summit and Jefferson City police and the Cole County Sheriff's Office. The stolen property was recovered in Cole County, Chism added.

Church officials said the stolen items included power tools, copper wire, an HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system and miscellaneous construction materials.

The theft likely occurred last Thursday night or Friday morning, Chism said, and was reported at 6:30 a.m. Friday.

The church is currently located on Route AA, about 2 miles east of Holts Summit. But the new building is going up along Platinum Road, which runs parallel to U.S. 54. Church members broke ground at the new site in late March.

"The current building's very old and it only seats about 70, and we need more than that," Pastor Nolan Wynn said in March.

He said the finished building will sprawl across 21,000 square feet, to accommodate Pleasant Ridge's growing membership. It will also have room for Reformers Unanimous (the church's addiction recovery program), Sunday school and a soup kitchen.

Chism asked anyone with information about this burglary to contact the sheriff's office at 573-642-7291 or at CallawaySheriff.org. Tips also can be reported through CrimeStoppers at 573-592-2474.

The investigation is ongoing and more details, including the suspect's name, will be released later, he added.