Burglars don't discriminate when it comes to crimes of opportunity. The latest victim is a church in northeast Bakersfield.
What was stolen that has church members sick with worry: personal information needed to commit identity theft.
Reverend Robert Lutjens of the Lutheran Church of Prayer, at Panorama and Morning Drives, was still picking up the pieces Tuesday morning from last week's burglary.
"Perhaps the most disturbing is our personnel files," he said. "The ones with our drivers license, social security number, all the things you need to run a legal corporation for your employees. Those have been accessed."
The church believes the burglary happened sometime between five and six in the morning of Monday, October 12.
Bakersfield Police Detective Mary DeGeare said it is not known how the burglars got into the church in the first place, but a church is no different than a house to thieves.
"Burglars don't discriminate," she said. "If they find an opportunity to break in anywhere, they are going to take advantage of that."
Once inside, the burglars jimmied the locked office doors, broke off padlocks, and made away with almost every computer.
On Sunday the 18th, the church's accountant came home from church to find her home burglarized. Reverend Lutjens said the burglaries appeared similar.
"Same methodology: jimmied doors, all of her electronics gone, quite a bit of her jewelry, cash, things like that," he said.
The only personal information that the thieves had access to were of his staff, not the congregation.
While Bakersfield Police do not have any evidence linking the two burglaries, Reverend Lutjens says his staff member's address was among the personnel files found laying wide open.
Also, a preschool teacher at the church has had some unauthorized transactions on her bank account.
When asked, Reverend Lutjens said he would like the opportunity to talk with the burglars.
"I'm actually very sad for them that they are taking this path and that they are making these decisions. I don't think it's going to be good for them in the long run, whoever they are"
If you have any information, contact Bakersfield Police at 327-7111.
