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Nov 20, 2019
Matthew Long, 34 of Lewes, DE, was arrested on Monday, November 18th for unlawfully entering a local church and removing cash and food.
On November 4th 2019, officers were called to the 400 block King Charles Avenue for a report of a burglary. Church officials reported that approximately $100.00 had been removed from a secure donation box and an unknown amount of food had been taken from an unsecured area within the church. The donation box was damaged during the incident. A second donation box and an interior door were damaged in attempts to open them as well. Officers were provided with surveillance footage from October 27th, 2019 in which a white male subject can be seen entering the church and going to the areas of the donation boxes. The footage also shows the subject tampering with the door that was damaged.
The subject in the footage was identified as Matthew Long, who is a former employee of the church. Officers obtained warrants for Long’s arrest and Long was apprehended when he appeared at Sussex County Superior Court for an unrelated matter. Long was taken into custody without incident.
Long was charged with one count of burglary in the third degree, which is a felony. He was charged with two counts of theft under $1,500.00, two counts of attempted theft under $1,500.00, and three counts of criminal mischief under $1,000.00 which are all misdemeanors.
Long was released on unsecured bond in the amount of $7,300.00.
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