Monessen pair charged in theft of credit cards while man was preaching at Smithton church
Two Monessen residents are accused of stealing a lay worship leader’s wallet while he was leading services at a Smithon church.
“It was kind of a wake-up call for us,” said Hope Memorial Lutheran Church Pastor Becky Dittenhafer.
The theft was reported March 10 and on Tuesday state police filed charges including theft and access device fraud against Jarell Anthony Carpenter, 35, and Erica Lynn Bloom, 40, according to online court documents.
Police on Tuesday filed charges including theft and access device fraud against Jarell Anthony Carpenter, 35, and Erica Lynn Bloom, 40, according to online court documents.
The lay worship leader told police credit cards were missing from a wallet he’d placed in a briefcase inside the Hope Memorial Lutheran Church, police said.
The man’s Visa debit card, Visa credit card and American Legion membership card were taken from the wallet while he was preaching during a Sunday morning service at the church on Second Street in Smithton, according to criminal complaints filed by police.
Surveillance images show Bloom and Carpenter using one of the cards on three occasions to pay for purchases at two Smithton businesses, Jack’s Supermarket and Dale’s Place, police said. The pair rang up charges totaling about $200, according to police.
According to the complaints, witnesses recognized the pair from earlier visits to the businesses and indicated they had always paid with cash before.
Dittenhafer said the church since has put in place additional security precautions.
“We don’t want a repeat of the event,” she said. “We were confident that (suspects) would be discovered quite soon because of the timing on the usage of the credit card. The state police handled it very efficiently.”
Dittenhafer said the suspects are not members of the church.
Police indicated in the complaints that the pair had been evicted from their most recent address, on First Street in Smithton. The complaints also list an address for the pair on Oneida Street in Monessen.
They were arraigned Wednesday before District Judge John E. Christner and were placed in the Westmoreland County Prison after they failed to post $25,000 bail each.
Court documents don’t list an attorney for the suspects.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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