Authorities in Florida say a man was arrested on suspicion of burglary at a church — but not before the pastor held him at gunpoint upon encountering him Thursday morning.
According to the New York Post, Seminole Heights Baptist Church Pastor Brant Adams was armed when he witnessed a man exit a food pantry on the premises.
“I said, ‘Dude, what are you doing?'” the pastor said. “He wasn’t looking for a fight, which I thank the Lord for.”
Instead, investigators believe 49-year-old Miguel Otero-Rivera was looking for valuables at the church, busting through windows and doors before focusing on a laptop computer he wanted to take with him.
Adams said the church exists to help others, but there is a wrong way to go about seeking the assistance this suspect obviously needed.
“You don’t need to steal,” he said, explaining that someone would have “given him some food” if he had simply asked.
Police reportedly arrived at the location a short time later and arrested Otero-Rivera, who is expected to face criminal charges including grand theft and burglary of an unoccupied structure.
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[Featured image: Miguel Otero-Rivera, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office]
