You’ve heard of going to dinner and a movie for a first date, but what about breaking into a church? That’s what a pair of Tennesseans got caught doing last week soon after meeting on a dating app.
“According to Hendersonville (Tennessee) Police, the couple ... (claimed) they broke into the church because they wanted to play the piano and they knew churches have pianos,” Nashville news station WKRN reports.
Surveillance footage captured at Indian Lake Peninsula Church reportedly shows 19-year-old Danielle Salvato and 20-year-old Sebastian Spencer wandering into the house of worship after midnight and then walking out later with some “souvenirs.”
“Police say they had stolen four Bibles and two drum sticks. In the surveillance footage, you can see Salvato pick up a church collection plate,” WKRN reports.
On the video, you can also hear the couple discuss their excitement about finding a piano.
“I’m so shocked we found (a piano) at the first church,” Salvato says. “There were so many more churches I was ready to go to.”
Hendersonville police quickly identified and found the pair after the church’s pastor called to report the incident and share the surveillance footage. They’ve been charged with misdemeanor theft and felony burglary, according to WKRN.
Although Salvato and Spencer have confessed to the break-in and returned the items they took, they have not yet apologized, police told WKRN.
In a statement posted to the Indian Lake Peninsula Church Facebook page, church leaders called on the congregation to pray for the couple.
“Our Administrative Pastor, Drew Altom, tried to communicate to the media that we have care and concern for the individual lives of these people. Please be praying for them. The church is not pressing any charges, but the state may choose to move forward with charges for breaking and entering,” the statement said.
