Two juveniles arrested for burglary of Corbin church, theft of van

Two Williamsburg juveniles were arrested late Thursday night in connection with the burglary of a Corbin church, and the theft of the church’s 15-passenger van and the pastor’s laptop computer.

Police say a 14-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend were taken into custody after members of Corinth Missionary Baptist Church got a tip about who may have committed the crimes. The two are accused of breaking into the church at about 2:30 a.m. last Saturday morning and taking pastor Lenny Strunk’s Compaq laptop computer, and keys to one of the church’s two vans. The two allegedly took the van on a joyride, crashing it into a tree on the side of Hwy. 511 before abandoning it. The van was discovered the following Sunday evening.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Bowling said police got a break in the case when a Williamsburg man called Strunk saying he had located the laptop.

"The father became suspicious when he found the laptop computer in his closet. He saw a bunch of kids in his house over the weekend that aren’t usually there and he knew something wasn’t right," Bowling said.

The kids were visiting the man’s daughter. Bowling said he started asking his daughter questions about the computer when he turned it on and saw that it belonged to Strunk. The girl admitted that she had been given the computer by the 17-year-old to keep. The two had become concerned about holding onto the computer after reading in the newspaper about the investigation.

"He called the pastor. This guy had no idea the van had been stolen and wrecked," Bowling said.

Bowling said the Strunk and church members were willing to forgoe criminal charges if the juveniles agreed to admit what they had done to church members and perform some sort of restitution. Damage to the van is estimated at about $8,000. Alternately, they could turn themselves into police.

Bowling said they chose to do neither, so authorities went looking for them at a residence on Savoy Clear Creek Road Thursday afternoon. The juvenile male was taken into custody. The girl fled out a back door into a nearby woods, but turned herself into police about 45 minutes later. Both have been charged with third-degree burglary, theft of a automobile and criminal mishief — all three felony offenses.

"Both of them are no strangers to the police," Bowling said. "They confessed to the crimes, but we are still investigating the case."

Bowling said police are still trying to determine exactly why the two were walking along Corinth Cemetery Road at 2:30 a.m. last Saturday in the first place.

"We’ve just not gotten any real good answers to that yet. I want to know why."

Bowling said the girl was the one that drove the van and crashed it into the tree. Neither juvenile has a license to drive a vehicle.

Both were lodged in a juvenile detention facility in Breathitt County.

Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Glenn Bunch also participated in the investigation.