Suspected Island Park church thief steals $2

An alert parishioner grabbed a suspected thief walking out of an Island Park church with the poor box in hand Thursday. Frank Paccione, of Island Park, said he noticed a man leaving Sacred Heart Roman

News 12 Staff

Apr 26, 2007, 10:21 PM

Updated 6,352 days ago

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An alert parishioner grabbed a suspected thief walking out of an Island Park church with the poor box in hand Thursday.
Frank Paccione, of Island Park, said he noticed a man leaving Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church holding the box used to collect donations for the needy. Paccione said he reached out and held the man, 53-year-old Wayne Erkander, at the street corner until police arrived.
Police said what Erkander, who is homeless, presumably didn't know is that the box had only $2 inside. Erkander is charged with petty larceny and possession of stolen property. The charges could be upgraded to felony counts because Erkander allegedly stole from a house of worship.