Matthew PriceTwo people were in the Whitfield County Jail Thursday morning in connection with vandalism and theft from a Varnell, Ga., church.
Matthew Edward Price, 34, and Heather Ann Marie Price, 26, stole $6,200 worth of cash, electronics and instruments from Harvest Baptist Church on Oct. 2, according to a Varnell Police Department incident report. They also allegedly caused about $1,800 in damage by breaking doors, security cameras and computer equipment.
Police said the Prices broke into the church on the 3900 block of Cleveland Highway around 10:30 that night by smashing a glass door. They then allegedly took a DVD player, computer monitors, a video recorder, a 42-inch TV, two bass guitars, three microphone sets, a set of speakers and a guitar amp. They also allegedly took cash from the church's offering plate.
After the theft, police found security footage of a man and woman walking through a hall in the church. Investigators posted the footage on the department's Facebook page, and some people provided tips that the Prices appeared to be the thieves. The agents then shared pictures of the two on Facebook, asking people to look out for them.
Heather PriceChief Lyle Grant said investigators narrowed in on the Prices' location after a Facebook post. One of them wrote that they were in Alabama. But Facebook stamps the location of each post, and that one indicated the Prices actually were in Austin, Texas.
"They slipped up," Grant said.
On Oct. 27, he said, members of the U.S. Marshals Service found the Prices in Austin. They've been held in jails since then. On Thursday morning, they arrived in Whitfield County.
The jail was holding the Prices on counts of burglary, trespassing, computer theft and vandalism to a place of worship.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.