Kansas City, Mo. — Police have an unusual clue as they search for the two men who robbed the pastor of a Kansas City church at gunpoint.
Because the Rev. Tony R. Caldwell pastor was short of cash, he offered to write each of the men a check for $150. The men agreed, making certain the pastor knew the correct spellings of their names.
Police are fairly certain they know the identities of the men.
The robbery happened Wednesday night when one of the men asked to speak to Caldwell after a Bible study at the Eternal Life Church. Caldwell invited the man to accompany him to his upstairs office, where the man said he wanted back in a church program he had been kicked out of. The program provides food and shelter to men who are homeless or recently have been released from jail.
A second man, who also was kicked out of the program and banned from the building over theft allegations, walked into the office as they talked.
"I knew I had a problem at that point," Caldwell said. "They both smelled of liquor, and their eyes were all bloodshot."
The second man asked for money and said: "It's up to you. I mean, your congregation could get shot up or your church could burn down."
Worried about church members still downstairs, Caldwell offered to write the men checks because he didn't have any cash on him.
"I wasn't going to push this issue," he said.
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