LLANO — Three men are behind bars and a fourth is being sought, all of them charged in the Easter weekend vandalism and burglary of a Kingsland church.
First Baptist Church of Kingsland also was damaged by an intentionally set fire earlier this month, but investigators say the crimes — which occurred months apart — are not related.
In addition, at least three of the men are no strangers to law enforcement, court records show.
Jerry James Guidry, 34; Gregory Paul DeLoach, 25; James Wesley Herman Jr., 29; and Ricky Jo Atchisson, 28, are charged with engaging in organized crime in connection with an April 22 Good Friday break-in and burglary at the church, said Llano County sheriff's Chief Deputy John Neff.
Guidry, DeLoach and Hermann remain in jail on that and other unrelated charges. Officials are still looking for Atchisson, deputies said.
If convicted, the men face up to 10 years in prison.
The arrests are based on good shoe-leather detective work, Neff said.
"We got information from our investigators on the street that just kind of snowballed and went from one person to the next," he said.
Meanwhile, anyone with information on Atchisson should contact the Llano County Sheriff's Office at (325) 247-5767, their local law enforcement agency or the Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers at 1-866-756-TIPPS (8477).
The vandalism and burglary occurred sometime during 9 p.m. April 21 to 10 a.m. April 22, authorities said.
The intruders broke into the church, 3435 RR 1431, smashing glass and locked doors before stealing an 800-pound safe, a laptop computer and some audio and video equipment. The safe contained $600 in Ugandan currency, another $200 in U.S. cash and some church papers.
The Ugandan currency was earmarked to help orphans in the African country.
Burnet County deputies recovered the safe April 22 just east of Kingsland.
Marble Falls police arrested DeLoach April 30 and charged him in connection with a series of break-ins in Marble Falls including at Marble Falls Middle School, 1511 Pony Drive; Ace Hardware, 1400 Ninth Street; and Storm's Restaurant, 1408 RR 1431. According to Burnet County Jail records, the Blanco County Sheriff's Office has also filed charges against DeLoach accusing him of two burglaries, a vehicle burglary and theft of a firearm.
He's been in jail since his arrest, where he's being held on more than $147,000 in bonds.
Neff said information gathered during the Marble Falls investigation also pointed Llano County authorities to DeLoach as a suspect in the church burglary.
Llano County deputies arrested Herman June 18 after a man fled from authorities during a traffic violation. Herman was charged him with aggravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest and resisting arrest in connection with the episode.
According to Burnet County Jail records, he's also being held on aggravated robbery charges, with bonds totaling more than $1.5 million.
Guidry is charged with burglarizing the Kingsland Coffee Co., 1907 RR 1431 in Kingsland, a week prior to the First Baptist burglary, Neff said.
Authorities do not believe the four men had any involvement in the arson case at the church, which occurred overnight July 15-16. In that incident, somebody broke into the church's Family Life building and set some construction paper on one of the walls afire.
The blaze burned itself out before it could cause major damage, church officials said.
Neff said anybody with information on that case should also contact the Sheriff's Office or Hill Country Area Crime Stoppers.
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