Modesto police catch suspect in theft of church money

A good physical description of the thief and information on his getaway vehicle helped Modesto police detectives apprehend Wednesday a man accused of robbing two women making a church’s bank deposit.

At about 11:20 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a downtown bank for a reported theft near its entrance. The women, wheeling a suitcase that contained a weekly deposit from The House church on Coffee Road, had been approached by a man in black clothing and a hooded sweatshirt. As the pair neared the bank doors, the man ran up, grabbed the suitcase and fled in a minivan.

Although the sweatshirt hood was up, the women were able to give officers a good description of the thief, said Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves.

Detectives were able to quickly identify 27-year-old Oscar Sanchez as a suspect. During a probation search of his Ceres home Wednesday, detectives found evidence linking him to the theft. A large amount of cash and checks was recovered and returned to the church. Sanchez was booked on suspicion of felony grand theft and violation of probation.

The women did not recognize Sanchez, Graves said, but apparently he had watched them on at least one previous occasion and determined they were making a weekly deposit.

Sanchez is believed to be the same man who a week before was on The House property and knocked on the window of a car the women were in as they prepared to leave to make the deposit of the entire weekend’s offerings, said pastor Glen Berteau.

When they didn’t roll down the window, he left, the pastor said. “The speculation is that he followed them last week,” Berteau said. “... He watched what they did and basically this week waited until they got out of the car and made his move. ... He’d planned this out.”

All of the checks written by church members were recovered, Berteau said, but after Monday’s robbery, the thief deposited the cash in a bank account. “We’re checking right now to see if we received it all back,” the pastor said. “We know we got most of it back.”

Berteau said he has never heard of any area church having its entire weekend offerings taken, and “once it was lost, stolen, I thought, well, it’s gone. And it wasn’t that they robbed me – they robbed thousands of people giving their hard-earned money to the church and the ministry.”

The pastor commended Police Chief Galen Carroll and the officers involved – one of them a House member – for their quick work. “I have requested them to allow me to talk with him (Sanchez) to see if the young man wants to straighten his life out. If he keeps going down this path, he’ll never be free; he’ll be in jail the rest of his life.”

“Many of us visit banks on a daily basis to conduct a variety of transactions,” Graves said in a news release. “It is important to remember these tips to lessen the likelihood of becoming a victim”:

▪ Trust your instincts. If you sense trouble, get away as quickly as possible.

▪ Show confidence. Walk at a steady pace and keep your head up and arms free.

▪ Be observant. Remain on high alert and observe people around you.

▪ Change your routine. If you conduct daily or weekly business at the bank, change up the days and/or times you visit. Keep money close to your body. You may want to consider using an armored service for larger transactions.

▪ See it, say it. If you see or hear something suspicious, leave the area immediately and call police.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Modesto police catch suspect in theft of church money."