Two Arrested For St. Mary's Church Theft

By Mike Perleberg Brittany Wallace is half of the couple accused of stealing items from St. Mary Catholic Church in Aurora. The mugshot of the second suspect, Kristopher Russell, was not immediately available. Photo by Dearborn County Sheriff's Dept. (Aurora, Ind.) - Aurora Police say a local couple has been arrested and charged with  stealing chalices and other items used in services at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The accused thieves' motivation? To purchase heroin. Arrested on Tuesday were Kristopher A. Russell, 33, of Lawrenceburg and Brittany H. Wallace, 26, of Vevay. They are each charged with Burglary (level 5 felony), Conspiracy to Commit Burglary (level 5 felony), and Theft (level 6 felony). Eagle Country 99.3 was the first to report the theft from the church last week. Police were told by the church's music director that multiple items were believed to have been taken from the church's altar and sacristy on Friday, December  18 as the church prepared for a 24-hour adoration service. The thefts were discovered and reported to Aurora officers on Sunday, December 20. Items taken included brass, gold-plated communion chalices and a paten as well as a brass bucket and sprinkler for holy water, candlestick, candle followers, and compact discs. Aurora Police were told the value was more than $3,000. Aurora Police were contacted by Aurora Recycling on Monday with information that the items taken from St. Mary Church may have been turned in to them. Police and the church music director came to positively identify the items as those that were stolen. The items, however, had been badly damaged, said investigating officer Sgt. Shane Slack. Slack learned that the items had been cashed in as scrap by Russell. When questioned by police, Russell claimed that his girlfriend, Wallace, had planed the theft at the church in order for them to obtain money to purchase heroin, Slack said. According to the Indiana Department of Corrections, Russell had been released from prison in April after serving time for probation violation of 2010 Theft and Receiving Stolen Property convictions in Dearborn County. Local court records show Wallace was convicted of Theft in Dearborn County in 2013 and was re-arrested for violating her probation this past April. Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard commended the Aurora Police Department on their excellent work in solving the case. The prosecutor also called it a shame that the Indiana General Assembly significantly reduced penalties on those who burglarize and steal from a house of worship. Negangard and other Indiana prosecutors are lobbying state lawmakers to increase prison sentences for people convicted of certain drug crimes after criminal code reform in recent years. “If this had happened before the criminal code, people who stole from a church would be looking at twice the penalty. It is a sad state of affairs when the Indiana General Assembly doesn’t view a house of worship as important anymore," Negangard said. RELATED STORIES: Communion Chalices, Holy Water Bucket Among Items Taken From Aurora Church Prosecutors Back Prescriptions For Cold Meds, Harsher Punishments For Drug Dealers