Benny Holmes, the pastor of New Beginnings Church in Baytown, Texas, was apparently napping in his office when he awakened by a disturbance. It turned out to be the sound of Lee Marvin Blue breaking in, apparently because he thought the church would be an easy mark to burglarize. But Blue (if that is his real name,) hadn’t counted on the pastor being armed . . .
According to the story by USA Today, after waking up, Pastor Holmes grabbed his 9mm pistol and contronted the thug, who was “carrying a large box filled with electronics taken from the church.” The Pastor told the burglar to put down the box, but “Blue allegedly made a quick motion.” That’s when the Pastor opened fire, striking Blue in the shoulder.
“Blue has no fixed address and has a record that includes car burglaries and public intoxication, records show,” according to the story in the USA Today.
This isn’t the first time that Pastol Holmes has worked on the side of the (law enforcement) angels.
Local officers knew Benny Holmes because he planned his own sting operation in September to catch a thief who was stealing packages off porches in the area, including his own. He caught Laurie Ferguson, 52, and held her at gunpoint until police arrived to arrest her, and Baytown officers later found at least 30 stolen items stockpiled in the woman’s closet.
“We had several UPS packages that were in front of people’s homes and they were mysteriously disappearing,” Baytown police Detective Luzette Watkins said. “Pastor Holmes happened to have the camcorder set up in front of his house. He actually caught the lady and restrained her until police could arrive.”
Blue was airlifted to a local hospital where he is in stable condition. Once released, he’ll be able to deal with the burglary charge pending against him. You probably won’t be surprised to learn this isn’t the first time Blue has encountered law enforcement in an official capacity – he apparently “has a record that includes car burglaries and public intoxication.” I guess his rap sheet just grew a little longer. Hopefully, he learned a valuable lesson here: don’t mess with a Texas pastor.
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