Arrests made in at least 15 church break-ins in 5 counties

A man and a woman from Concord were arrested and jailed this week in connection with at least 15 church break-ins in five counties.

Justin Ray Patterson, 28, and Amanda Nicole Hickey, 23, face charges in connection with seven Union County church break-ins and others in Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Rowan and Stanly counties, Union County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Underwood said Thursday.

Patterson was in the Cabarrus County Jail on $290,000 bail on Thursday. Hickey was in the jail on $210,000 bail.

Union County warrants charge the pair with seven counts of breaking and entering a place of worship and two counts of larceny after breaking and entering.

A TV and DVD were stolen in one of the Union County break-ins, but Underwood said it appears the intruders switched to stealing cash from churches.

Patterson and Hickey also were wanted in connection with two or three Stanly County church break-ins, four in Cabarrus and at least one each in Mecklenburg and Rowan.

Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey expressed relief the pair was in custody and praised the work of detectives who worked to capture them. “It takes a special kind of criminal to target a church as a place to steal,” Cathey said. “A church should be off limits.”

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Arrests made in at least 15 church break-ins in 5 counties."