Photo released of suspect after jeweled gold crown worth $30K stolen from Center City church
The pastor of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church says the crown is about 125 years old and worth $30,000.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are working with surveillance images to help them identify the man who stole a golden, jeweled crown from a church in Center City Philadelphia.
In the video, a man can be seen scaling the fence and then smashing through a stained glass window built in 1899.
Philadelphia police say it happened just after 1 a.m. on Saturday at the St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in the unit block of South 13th Street in Center City.
"That person knew exactly what he was doing," said Father John McCloskey, Assistant Pastor, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church.
The church says the man was in and out of the church in 10 minutes.
The suspect was last seen getting into a Mitsubishi SUV along the 1200 block of Market Street on Saturday.
The pastor of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church says the crown is about 125 years old and worth $30,000.
The jewled crown was made by parishioners back in 1899 after the church had a massive fire but the statue remained. It is made of gold and gems donated by the parishioners at the time, according to the church.
The church held its regularly scheduled Mass on Sunday, despite some damage from the burglary.
The Philadelphia Police Department is urging anyone with information regarding this incident to contact Central Detectives as the investigation continues.
