February 26, 2016
Philadelphia Police Department/For PhillyVoice
The Philadelphia police arrested William Christopher Sides, 28, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2016, and charged him with allegedly burglaries at Our Lady Of Calvary Church in Northeast Philadelphia.
A 28-year-old man was arrested Thursday for allegedly attempting to pry open a Northeast Philadelphia church's poor box to steal the cash inside, Philadelphia police said.
Before the arrest, officers were monitoring Our Lady Of Calvary Church, at the 11000 block of Knights Road, because of at least two previous burglaries had occurred there on Jan. 24 and Feb. 24.
"We lit a candle, and we put a coin in the poor box and said a prayer that we would catch this individual," – Philadelphia police Officer Denny Clair
Officers said Friday that the church had shared video of those burglaries, and the officers believed they knew who they were looking for.
At about 9:06 p.m. the police staking out the church heard a door unlock.
Upon entering Our Lady of Calvary to investigate the noise, officers said they found William Christopher Sides of the 3300 block of Kayford Circle, allegedly attempting to pry open the poor box.
Officer Denny Clair, who made the arrest, said on Friday that officers had stayed inside the darkened building for two nights in order to catch Sides in the act and make the arrest.
The second night, they caught Sides.
"He was extremely surprised," the officer said.
Sides ran out of the building when approached by law enforcement, and police said he was caught on the church steps outside without further incident.
"We lit a candle, and we put a coin in the poor box and said a prayer that we would catch this individual," Clair said.
According to Clair, Sides told police he had "found a set of keys in the parking lot" that he used to get into the church on Thursday night and two prior occasions. Police said they don't believe Sides was a member of the church.
Sides is charged with three counts of burglary for Thursday night's alleged crime and the two incidents earlier this year. He also is charged with criminal trespassing, criminal mischief and related offenses.
