Pastor's Grandson Confesses to Stealing Thousands From Offering Plate
Gary "Tripp" Bradley III, the grandson of a retired pastor who served for 30 years as senior pastor of Mayfair Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama, was arrested Friday and charged with theft of property from the church after confessing to the congregation that he had been taking money from the offering plate.
Police told WAFF that the 38 year old, who helped with weekly collection at the 71-year-old church, took money from the offering plate and deposited the funds into a bank account he controlled.
Lt. Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the Huntsville Police Department, said the crime was reported on March 12 after the bank questioned the suspicious nature of the deposits into Bradley's account. A WAAY31 report said Redstone Federal Credit Union contacted the church about Bradley's strange deposits as all of the checks he began depositing since last September were made out to the church.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Bradley was caught on surveillance video depositing the checks into an ATM. Lt. Johnson said his wife, Sarah, may also face charges related to the case as evidence shows she was with him when certain deposits were made. While he was also unable to say how much money Bradley had taken from the church, Johnson indicated it was several thousand dollars.
Church officials would not confirm the exact date when Bradley made the confession but noted that he did ask for their forgiveness.
"He's asked for our forgiveness and we are just trying to take care of our members," Dianna Gill, a receptionist and longtime member of the 1,700-member church, told The Christian Post Wednesday. She said Bradley did not publicly share why he took the money from the church and referred further questioning to the church's lead Pastor Jason Bybee. He did not immediately respond to questions on Wednesday.
Since his arrest, Bradley, who is a married father and owner of Nu Image Lawn Service, was released on $30,000 bond.
Starting in 1979, Bradley's grandfather, whose name he bears, served for 30 years as lead pastor at Mayfair Church of Christ.
