Handyman who discovered doable theft cash in Lakewood Church’s partitions says he deserves reward

HOUSTON – The plumber responsible for finding a large sum of money inside the walls of a mega church in Houston now says he thinks he should get a reward.

The man who wanted to remain anonymous gave KPRC 2 a glimpse of the moment he found the loot in Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church on November 10th.

“This is probably the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen or done in my life,” says the plumber.

ALSO SEE: Plumber Discovers Money, Checks Joel Osteens Lakewood Church Wall Years After $ 600,000 Burglary

According to the preliminary investigation, Houston police said there was evidence that the case was linked to the March 9, 2014 theft report of undisclosed church funds.

display

The plumber told KPRC 2 that although he did not find any information about the suspect, he believes that he should be rewarded for his discovery.

“I haven’t resolved your case, but I have very important clues as to what might or might have happened there,” he said.

Crime Stoppers originally offered a $ 25,000 reward for the information that led to the arrest of a suspect. Due to the expiry of the statute of limitations in this case of theft, however, the plumber will not receive any reward, says Deputy Director Nichole Christoph.

“That doesn’t rule out Lakewood [Church] to give him a reward or a combination of HPD that congratulates him on doing the right thing, ”said Christoph. “Unfortunately, at this point, Crime Stoppers is no longer in the game.”

However, if the plumber hadn’t fixed the loose toilet on the church, the money would still be in the walls.

“I feel like I should get something,” said the man. “I feel like I should be offered some kind of reward.”

display

News of the discovery was brought to light on a morning radio broadcast at 100.3 The Bull.

“There was a loose toilet in the wall and we removed the tiles,” said the plumber on the phone. “We went to remove the toilet and I removed some insulation and about 500 envelopes fell off the wall and I thought, ‘Oh wow!'”

HPD continues to investigate both cases.

CONNECTED:

Houston’s Lakewood Church slumped for $ 600,000

Lakewood Church: The Houston Mega Church in Numbers

Copyright 2021 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.