Church van stolen and used for crime spree, police say

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando church bishop hopes to get his van back after it was stolen and taken on a crime spree police say.

That van crashed into the storefront of Orlando Jewelers on East Colonial Drive, as seen in the store's surveillance video. Bishop Arnold Fraiser of Mission of Hope Church of God says his van was missing from church on Sunday morning.

"Somebody steal the van and back into the jewelry store. It’s really shocking to me."

In the surveillance video, you see three suspects running away from the scene. Police say they caught the looters.

Jewelry store owner Luis Arroyo says it happened the same day as people were protesting the death of George Floyd.

“This is people, that don’t understand what George Floyd meant and they’re just taking advantage of the situation.”

A secondary security gate prevented the suspects from stealing the jewelry. But shattered glass covers the floor and the jewelry cases are destroyed.

“We may lose everything because of this.”

A few doors down, at TJ Hair Salon, owner Anthony Chan says the suspects busted the window.

"Pretty scary, terrible.  Hopefully, my insurance can pay it."

Orlando’s police chief says thieves broke into businesses all over Orlando on Sunday, including the Millenia area, as police were dealing with protestors. Shooters World, off Conroy and Kirkman, was broken into as well, and in that case police arrested two people. Bishop Fraiser says he’s lost something very valuable to many.

"What do you use the church van for? To pick Sunday school kids up in the morning."

He hopes to get his van back when school goes back in session.

"We don’t have Sunday school now because of the virus."