Cops: Man steals from Gwinnett church on Christmas Eve

Juan Ramerez allegedly broke into a Duluth church on Christmas Eve.

Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

Juan Ramerez allegedly broke into a Duluth church on Christmas Eve.

A man stole an electric piano from a church and smashed his hand through a glass window on Christmas Eve, Duluth police say.

Juan Ramerez has been charged with burglary with intent to commit a felony, criminal damage to property and false report of a crime.

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A Duluth police officer responded to MFM Revival Center around 8:30 a.m. Christmas Eve. Church employees found a trail of blood stains that lead to a smashed window when they came to work that morning, and they noticed the piano was missing. There was blood in the sink, and the sink was still running, according to a police report. Doors in the building had been forced open and a DVD burner had been “torn apart,” the report said.

The officer watched surveillance video, showing a man enter the church from a broken window just after midnight. The man walked around smoking a cigarette before taking the piano, the report said.

Police had gotten a call from Gwinnett Medical Center Duluth earlier that day saying Ramerez had deep cuts on his arms and claimed to have been attacked by two men on Buford Highway. The hospital staff’s description of Ramerez matched the man on the surveillance tape; he was wearing the same clothes and his injuries were consistent with smashing a window.

Police arrested Ramerez at the hospital that day. He is being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond.

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