Detectives

tectives for their investigation that led to the arrests of two Philadelphia men for roles in 10 overnight break-ins at houses of worship in Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia counties between Feb. 20 and March 17, 2020.

“These detectives worked tirelessly, putting in hundreds of hours on this case, all during the early days of the COVID pandemic,” Steele said during the ceremony. “During this investigation over several months, evidence was painstakingly collected and pieced together.”

Gabriel E. Minnick, 23, and Semaj Munir Howard, 22, each was sentenced last year to 6 to 14 years in state prison after they pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, conspiracy, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property in connection with the multiple break-ins.

The burglars stole precious metals, safes, petty cash, portable church communion kits, silver church communion trays, bottles of wine, poor box donations, televisions and other electronics from churches of various denominations located in Abington, Upper Moreland, Lower Moreland and Cheltenham in Montgomery County, and in Lower Southampton in

“These detectives worked tirelessly, putting in hundreds of hours on this case, all during the early days of the COVID pandemic. During this investigation over several months, evidence was painstakingly collected and pieced together.” — District Attorney Kevin R. Steele

Bucks County and in Philadelphia, according to arrest affidavits.

Additionally, the burglars caused significant damage to the churches, some of which were historic structures, prosecutors alleged.

A multi-jurisdictional task force led by Duntzee and Halota found that the burglaries had a common scheme — entry was forced, typically through windows, and the items stolen were similar in nature.

Investigators linked Minnick and Howard to the burglaries through video surveillance, photographs, cellphone records, pawn shop transactions and the clothing they wore.

“The burglaries committed

were classic ‘modus operandi’ crimes — a pattern of behavior nearly identical in nature so as to constitute the virtual fingerprint of an actor or actors — known as common plan, scheme or design,” Duntzee and Halota wrote in the criminal complaint.

At the time of the arrests, Steele characterized the crimes as “reprehensible.”

“Due to the excellence of the investigation and the overwhelming evidence against them, the defendants pled guilty and were sentenced in December 2021 to 6 to 14 years in state prison,” Steele said during the commendation ceremony.

Halota and Duntzee were

among 29 law enforcement members and eight civilians who were honored for what Steele characterized as “their extraordinary efforts, exemplary work and heroism” during the annual commendation ceremony.

“Montgomery County is a wonderful place to live and work for many reasons including the fact that residents are willing to step up to help law enforcement do their job of keeping us all safe and making sure criminals are apprehended and prosecuted. We also have some of the finest law enforcement officers and officials who work every day at a high level of professionalism,” Steele said during the ceremony. “These honorees are among the best.”