Perry police arrest alleged church burglary suspect

PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Officers with the Perry Police Department say they finally arrested a man who’d been stealing from different areas in the city for almost a month. 

Perry police say Demetrius Darnel Jones is the man they’ve been after since the beginning of July. 

He allegedly broke into a church on Lee Street in Perry and did the same thing at a nursing home five minutes down the road. 

“…and he had broken into there and taken several items out of it,” Captain Heath Dykes, with the Perry Police Department, said.

Dykes says Jones broke the window to the training facility at the nursing home and stole a projector and even a mini-fridge.

Officers caught up with him at a traffic stop on Thursday after obtaining warrants for him for stealing candy from a nearby convenience store.

“We’re looking at other burglaries that we’ve had in that time frame and with the same motive,” Dykes said. 

He adds Jones took everything from a TV, to a refrigerator, and even church music equipment. 

One of the directors at the nursing home says  she’s happy she can have some peace of mind.

“Some of the things we’ve got back, we’ve been able to identify as belonging to the victims,” Dykes said. 

Authorities say at the moment, they believe Jones acted by himself. 

“We haven’t been able to link anybody else to these burglaries other than him,” Dykes said. 

He says the police have search warrants to look for any of the stolen property at Jones’ home and nearby pawn shops.

“I encourage anybody with any information that may know where some of this property or have been approached by anybody trying to sell property that’s similar to what I just mentioned to give us a call,” Dykes said. 

Dykes says the police department will continue to try and track down all of the stolen goods. 

If you have any information on the stolen property or this case, call the Perry Police Department.