Purse thief hits churches

Churchgoers, keep a tight grip on those purses.

An interdenominational purse thief is on the prowl in Spokane Valley.

Credit cards, checkbooks and keys have been stolen from four churches this fall. The most recent theft happened Friday.

The thief (or thieves) hits churches during the week, then goes on a shopping spree, which doesn’t end when the victims close the accounts. The thief continues to use the closed account numbers to forge other checks.

Detectives are investigating the thefts at Valley Christian Church, Valley Assembly of God, Grace Harvest Fellowship and Redeemer Lutheran Church. Detectives are also investigating four church burglaries during October in which thieves broke in looking for money and electronics, said Sgt. Dave Martin of the Spokane Valley Police Department.

“Even most crooks will keep their hands off churches, but not all of them,” Martin said. “There are very few places where you’re completely safe anymore.”

On Friday, Natalie Curtis gave a tour of Grace Harvest Fellowship’s elementary and early learning center to a short, thin woman who claimed she was interested in enrolling her children. Throughout the tour the woman would walk away from Curtis into rooms that weren’t part of the tour.

Curtis now believes the woman was scoping out the church. Less than an hour after the woman left, Curtis realized her purse and a scarf had been stolen from her office. By the time Curtis called her bank, someone had already tried to use a church credit card and had bought gasoline with Curtis’ check card.

“I gave her the benefit of the doubt,” Curtis said of the visitor. “It angers me because I feel like I was nice to her and she did something like this to me.”

The first theft was reported on Sept. 7 at Valley Assembly of God. A woman no one knew was seen going into the church. A few minutes later she was gone and a wallet was eventually discovered missing from a purse, Martin said. Later that month, someone came into Valley Christian Church and stole a wallet from a purse. The stolen credit cards and checks were then used at local stores, Martin said.

Martin said he suspects the same person or group of people were responsible for the thefts.

Linda Prothero volunteers at Redeemer Lutheran Church. On Oct. 4, she left her keys on a table inside the church. A half-hour later the keys were gone. Prothero went outside to her sport utility vehicle. Someone had used the keys to unlock it and steal her purse, which was inside.

No one saw the thief. Before Prothero could close her accounts, the thief had spent almost $1,000 at stores in Spokane Valley. Someone has continued to use the closed checking account number to make purchases and Prothero said she’s been shocked at how many stores don’t ask for identification and have accepted the forged checks.

Prothero and Curtis said they hope police can catch the thief. Both no longer assume churches are off-limits to thieves.

“It’s just so violating. You think a church is safe,” Prothero said.