
A man was found guilty last week of burglarizing a church five years ago that lead to an act of kindness.
Steven Michael Fontenot was one of thieves that stole from a volunteer group that was in town to help rebuild Mauriceville Assemble of God on Highway 12.
Prosecutor Bard Anderson said, “The offense is a State Jail Felony, which means that the defendant will face between six months and two years in a State Jail. (Fontenot) is going to Judge Arkeen for punishment and the sentencing date is April 1, 2025. His co-defendant, Justin Ray Murphy, pleaded guilty to the offense and was sentenced on November 15, 2022 to probation. But due to violations of the conditions of his probation, on May 23, 2024 his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to 15 months in a State Jail.”
Following the crime in January of 2020, local businessman Chad Havens saw the original story on KOGT.com. He then took the volunteers to Home Depot and allowed them to replace everything that had been stolen. The total bill was approximately $7000. Havens said, “I didn’t want them to leave Orange County with a bad taste in their mouth.”
Anderson added, “We look forward to presenting our case to the Judge and are glad we were able to finally get justice for the Mauriceville Church and the citizens of Orange County.”
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