The Lower Moreland Police Department announced today that Michael V. Evangelist Jr., 37, was delivered to their station yesterday to face charges of theft, burglary, and institutional vandalism.
Following a months-long investigation, police say Evangelist was behind the thefts of mausoleum doors in Cheltenham, Abington, Lower Moreland and Springfield. He was arrested in September.
Lower Moreland police received a report of a theft of two bronze mausoleum doors valued at approximately $31,500 from a mausoleum at Forest Hills Cemetery in Huntingdon Valley on February 3. An investigation revealed that the doors had been removed by unscrewing the door hinges from the frame, police said.
“A piece of glass and window frame from one of the mausoleum doors was discovered on the left side of the mausoleum, suggesting the offender had cut the doors into smaller pieces while on scene,” the report said.
Following the investigation, Evangelist was identified as a suspect and was later found to have sold multiple pieces of cut mausoleum doors to a metal recycling company. Further investigation revealed that Evangelist frequented the scrap locations during the same timeframes as the multiple thefts from Bucks County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, and Philadelphia.
On February 2, Evangelist was recorded at a location in Philadelphia scrapping large pieces of cut metal which matched the stolen doors from Forest Hills Cemetery. An arrest warrant was obtained.
Evangelist was brought to Lower Moreland police from Bucks County to face the following charges:
- (4) COUNTS OF 3921 A THEFT BY UNLAW TAKING-MOVABLE PROP
- (3) COUNTS OF 3503 A1II CRIM TRES-BREAK INTO STRUCTURE
- (5) COUNTS OF 3307 A2 INSTITUT/’L VAND/’ISM CEMETERY ETC
- (3) COUNTS OF 3502 A4 BURGLARY-BLDG W/O OVERNIGHT ACCOM
- (3) COUNTS OF 907 A POSSESSING INSTRUMENTS OF CRIME
In 2023, he was arrested for his involvement in a multi-million-dollar organized criminal enterprise.
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Photo: LMPD