Crime & Safety

Businessman Offers $1,000 Reward to Help Nab Shelby Township Church Robbers

The owner of the Comfort Inn in Utica and Shelby Town Center in Shelby Township also is donating money to St. Therese of Lisieux Roman Catholic Church in Shelby.

A local businessman is offering a $1,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of robbers who stole from a Shelby Township church following Easter services.

Developer and attorney Thomas Guastello, who owns the Comfort Inn in Utica and Shelby Town Center, is also donating $1,000 to the church, St. Therese of Lisieux Roman Catholic Church in Shelby Township, to help support its efforts in the community.

"This type of criminal conduct is unacceptable and violates the basic fiber of our community...It is absolutely reprehensible that people would rob a church and steal a large amount of collection money and chalices," Guastello said in a statement about the reward.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The announcement comes on the heels of police saying that the robbery of more than $40,000 at St. Therese is likely related to the theft of an undisclosed amount of cash at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Clinton Township. The crimes took place around the same time frame, between 1 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. Investigators are also exploring the potential connection to a robbery at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Utica in February.

Shelby Township police said they are collecting evidence that will be sent to the state crime lab during this ongoing investigation.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Crimes such as this against a church is an affront to all people of Macomb County. That is why we are offering a reward to encourage people to become involved and solve this case," Guastello stated.

Anyone with information is asked to call Shelby Township Lt. Detective Tom Kohl at 586-731-2121, ext. 315, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.