Young Boys Charged With Robbing Church Deputies Suspect Two Stole, Spent Money, Vandalized Grounds

A 10-year-old north Spokane boy and his 11-year-old friend are in trouble, charged with stealing from a church and using the money for a shopping and pizza binge.

Sheriff’s deputies suspect the boys skipped school Tuesday and broke into Crossroads Church at 7011 N. Altamont by prying open a steel door.

Once inside, they pilfered a wooden collection box, sheriff’s Lt. David Wiyrick said.

Crossroads Pastor Paul Olfson said Wednesday the boys - one of whom sometimes attends his church - “got about a hundred bucks from our blessing box.”

They also stole a can of beige paint from a storage shed on the church grounds and splattered it on the outside of the church, Wiyrick said.

They then went on a spending spree, he said.

The boys reportedly bought a Nintendo Gameboy from the Fred Meyer store on East Francis, ate pizza at nearby Pizza Planet and played video games at Wonderland Golf & Games on North Division.

In the meantime, Deputy Ted Campbell went to the church to investigate the theft, which has become a common occurrence in the Inland Northwest.

Authorities in Spokane and North Idaho have investigated nearly 50 church burglaries since October. The boys accused in Tuesday’s break-in aren’t suspected in any of the others.

While at the church, Campbell talked to the parents of the two boys. They were there looking for their sons, who were missing from school.

One parent told Campbell the boys were spotted near the church earlier.

The deputy later saw the boys walking down the street, Wiyrick said. One was carrying a Fred Meyer bag with the Gameboy inside.

He arrested them and drove them to the county juvenile detention center, where they were photographed and fingerprinted before being released to their parents.

Campbell later found the rest of the money stashed behind the Pizza Planet.

The boys, who were not identified, face felony burglary, theft and malicious mischief charges, authorities said.

Neither boy has a criminal record, said Royce Moe, Juvenile Court commissioner.

Olfson tried to play down the crime.

“Kids have been doing stuff like this for 100 years,” he said with a laugh. “When you’re 10 or 11, you do things like this.”

Not Wiyrick. “I’d be afraid that some day I’d have to meet my maker,” he said.

The 10-year-old will be doing something similar this weekend.

Olfson said the boy - who has attended Crossroads in the past - will return to the scene of the crime to begin paying his penance.

“He’s going to be in front of the congregation saying he’s sorry,” the pastor said. “His mother has also arranged for him to pay off his debt by doing work here - kind of church community service.”

No word on what the other boy’s parents have planned for him.

, DataTimes