Even Funerals Can Attract Thieves, Pastor Learns
The Rev. Paul A. Wells's car was stolen during a funeral in Capitol Heights.
(By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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Thieves will take a vehicle from just about anyplace -- a driveway, a garage, even just outside a church -- as the Rev. Paul A. Wells can attest.
Wells, pastor of New Revival Kingdom Church in Forestville, was attending a funeral at a church in Capitol Heights in November when he and four other people walked outside to find their vehicles gone.
His 1995 Mercury Cougar, in which he had left his wallet, checkbooks and about $100 in cash, had been stolen.
In his years as a pastor, he had never heard of vehicles being stolen while their owners were at a funeral.
"You're amazed at how quickly they can do something and how people in general don't notice," Wells said.
Yet Wells, 60, was not angry. Instead, he was heartened by all the people who came to his aid.
"I had somebody there to get me back to my church and to provide transportation for me," he said. "They stayed there while I waited for the police."
He added that at times like that, "good human nature shows up."
Wells works with inmates and ex-offenders. He knows why kids steal cars.
"Most of them are joy riding, having fun," he said. "I believe more efforts need to be concentrated working on 16-, 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds, especially at the high school level. I think it's a correctable problem, but I think it's a problem that the community has to participate in."
Wells is optimistic that the county will get a handle on the auto theft problem. In the meantime, he has taken precautions.
Soon after his car was stolen, Wells asked the state's attorney's office to provide steering wheel locks at cost to members of the Collective Banking Group, a coalition of area churches.
"I think we're getting about 300 of them," he said.
Now he uses a steering wheel lock in his car, and he's careful not to leave money or valuables in it.
-- ARUNA JAIN
