AMARILLO, TEXAS -- In 2010 a lot of Amarillo churches were the victims of burglary. In fact, there were 51 reports of church burglaries between April and November this year. Four men have now been linked to some of those crimes.
Some of the cases are several months old because investigators were waiting for lab results. All of the following men have been arrested or are currently in custody on their respective charges.
Mario Moreno Valenzuela, 46, has been charged with the burglary of Church Alive, 2650 Dumas Drive that occurred on November 2. He has also been charged in a burglary that happened on October 16, at West Amarillo Christian Church, 3701 Soncy, along with two other burglaries at the YMCA North Branch on September 8, and October 21.
The burglary of St. Stephen West Campus at 4415 Wesley on February 17, has been linked to Kenny Mayhue, 33.
On October 25, West Amarillo Christian Church was hit again. Ashton Burnett, 21, was charged in that burglary. Further investigation/evidence has also led to numerous other counts of burglary against him. Including, Coulter Road Baptist, Amarillo South Church, Victory Church, Family Fellowship, Valleyview Church of Nazarene, Paramount Baptist Deaf Church, Kingswood United Methodist Church, St. Stephen, Southwest Baptist Church. Burnett was also charged with one count of burglary of a habitation that happened on November 10, in the 4600 block of S. Virginia.
Tyler Layne Bedingfield, 23, has been charged with burglary of Victory Church that happened back in April, and Coulter Road Baptist in September.
Detectives with the Amarillo Police Department continue to investigate all burglaries church, residential, or businesses for similarities or evidence linking them to any of the above suspects.
Police would like to remind everyone to record serial numbers on all electronic equipment or engrave some type of personal identifying number to help in the recovery of stolen items.
Amarillo Crime Stoppers also recently announced their partnership with DATA DOTS. DATA DOTS allows you to mark your items with unique identifying numbers that are virtually invisible to the naked eye. To find out more about the product click here.
