On Wednesday in Seymour, IN, two teenagers were arrested as the suspects of an incident involving a church that was broken into and desecrated in November.
18-year-old Shawn Battice and a 16-year-old unnamed adolescent allegedly used the double doors in the back of the Seymour First Presbyterian Church to illegally enter the building in the early morning hours of November 24. They stole the money out of a collection box in the basement, and then located five fire extinguishers which were affixed throughout the church. The pair discharged the extinguishers into the basement, youth recreation room, sanctuary and choir room, covering the organ, furniture and pianos with the contents, according to Seymour Police Department Detective Sgt. C.J. Foster. A church trustee reported that the total damage caused was assessed at nearly $10,000.
An official investigation led authorities to the teenagers, and they were taken into custody on Wednesday evening. When Battice was interviewed by detectives he said that he and the 16-year-old did in fact enter the church without consent, and that they stole money and used the fire extinguishers to cause the damage.
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