Deacons Apprehend Alleged Church Burglar Until OCPD Arrives

<p>A man is accused of breaking into an Oklahoma City church in the middle of Sunday service and the deacons held him down until police arrived.</p>

Thursday, August 4th 2016, 10:15 pm

By: News 9


A man is accused of breaking into an Oklahoma City church in the middle of Sunday service and the deacons held him down until police arrived.

It was not the first time the suspect, 37-year-old Danny Waldrup, has been in trouble and ended up behind bars.

In fact, when requesting his mug shot Thursday, News 9 learned they have 120 images of him on file at the Oklahoma County Jail alone.

After 10 a.m. Sunday, July 31, the normal church crowd was inside St. Jude's Missionary Baptist Church near Britton and Western. Franshon Mays was in the kitchen with her daughter when she said they both heard banging.

“Like boom. Like he was charging the door like he had to be hitting it with his body,” she explained.

Mays said Waldrup managed to crack that door open so they ran for help.

Maurice Carter and two other deacons caught up with Waldrup outside.

He had already apparently given up on the door and shattered a window.

“We tried to tell him to stop, but he wouldn’t stop so then we had to grab him and put him on the ground,” said Carter.

The deacons said they checked his pockets and held him down until police arrived just minutes later.

“He was trying to swing around even when the cops came they had to tell him to sit down and be still because he was still trying to get up and get out of there,” Carter explained.

Court records show Waldrup has been convicted of burglary and possession of meth, among other offenses.

So Carter admitted, tackling this career criminal during such a brazen act was a risky move.

But a necessary one, he said, in order protect the people inside the place of worship.

“On a Sunday morning – that was Satan attempting to attack and he didn’t get far at all,” Mays said.

The police report also made note, Waldrup was seen trying to break into cars near the church on the 800 block of Britton Road.

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