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Tag: Heroin Addiction

Black Collar Crime: Evangelical Pastor’s Wife Heather Riggs Steals Church Funds to Buy Drugs

drug bust

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Heather Riggs, the wife of the pastor of Victory Christian Church in Seelyville (Terre Haute), Indiana, was arrested last week and charged with “theft, check fraud, forgery, neglect of a dependent, dealing a Schedule I,II, or III controlled substance, and dealing a Schedule IV controlled substance.” In November 2016, the church’s youth director died of a heroin overdose.

This is a story that should remind us that despite all their talk of God and his awesome sin delivering power, Evangelicals face the same problems as the rest of us. The drug crisis continues unabated, both in and out of church.

WTHI-10 reports:

On Friday, police arrested 42-year-old Heather Riggs.

Riggs was an employee of Victory Christian Church in Seelyville.

According to court documents, the investigation started about two weeks ago when police arrested Jason Reed after a traffic stop.

Reed was in possession of a controlled substance.

Police say Reed told investigators he was selling drugs to Heather Riggs, adding she was using the church’s money to buy the heroin and pills.

…..

Police say they found text conversations on Reed’s phone dating back to November of 2016.

Those conversations allegedly discussed different locations to meet and the prices for the drug purchases.

While looking through the church’s bank records, police found 14 different occasions where Riggs wrote a check to Reed.

Police also learned Riggs wrote 140 checks to herself.

On Friday, police began to question Heather and her husband Shawn Riggs.

Shawn told police for a check to be written, there needed to be two separate signatures.

Shawn said there were three deacons at the church who could sign a check.

Shawn told police after an accountant left the church in 2016, Heather and youth pastor Jared Smith took over the church’s financial responsibilities.

Smith died after a heroin overdose in November of 2016, leaving Heather in charge of the money.

Shawn told police he was not aware of Heather’s heroin addiction.

He said he had not received a paycheck in several months, and didn’t question it because of the church’s financial issues.

When police started interviewing Heather, she said she first started talking to Reed in February of 2017, saying she met him while playing softball with the church team.

That is when police told her they had the phone records.

Police say Heather began talking with Reed the day after youth pastor Jared Smith passed away.

Investigators say Heather changed her story, saying she got Reed’s phone number from Smith’s cell phone and contacted him after Smith’s death to buy oxycodone.

She told police the first time she started using heroin was in a gas station parking lot in February 2017.

She told investigators she used church money to buy the drugs, telling police she forged the signature of her husband or one of the deacons to write the checks.

She admitted to falsifying the church ledger to hide her theft.

….

When police asked her about two different occasions where she took two small children she was babysitting with her to Reed’s house to buy heroin, she said she only remembered doing it once.

Heather was arrested and charged with theft, check fraud, forgery, neglect of a dependent, dealing a Schedule I,II, or III controlled substance, and dealing a Schedule IV controlled substance.

 

Donald Trump, Thieving Democrats, God is Pro-Life, And Jesus is the Cure for Heroin Addiction

Welcome to Defiance County, Ohio, home to Jesus and Donald Trump.

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Evidently, the person who put up this sign has never read the Bible. Had they bothered to do so, they would have found out that God is definitely not pro-life.

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This sign would be hilarious if it wasn’t for the fact that the person who put it up really believes these things. Come Wednesday, I am sure she will be screaming long and hard about how Democrats stole the election from Donald Trump.

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Gamerz is a Defiance, Ohio video game store. While I certainly believe that every American has a right to voice their political views, it is not good for business to do so when you own a small business. Earlier in the day, the owner of Gamerz unfurled and hung two anti-Clinton banners above the sidewalk in the front of his business. He had taken them down by the time I took this photograph. Evidently, the owner is more interested in supporting Trump and disparaging Clinton than he is making money. He shall, most certainly, NOT get any of my money.

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The Gathering Place, Defiance, Ohio is a frequent contributor to my church sign series: On the The Road Looking for God’s True Church. While these signs wisely do not mention Donald Trump, rest assured Gathering Place congregants and pastors support Donald Trump. Those voting for Hillary Clinton will keep their heads down and mouths shut lest they give the appearance of standing against God’s chosen one, Donald, Pussy-gabbing Trump. Turning back our nation is code for “time to evict the Negro from the White House and replace him with an orange and white “baby”  Christian.”

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V.I.P Nails (and gym) in downtown Defiance wants passerbys to know that Jesus is the ONLY answer for those struggling with heroin addiction. In fact, their banner suggests that local police and drug rehab centers should STOP fighting against heroin and instead lead addicts to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Imagine a man jonesing for a heroin fix — willing to do ANYTHING to feed his need. Get saved? Sure, now can I have some s-m-a-c-k? Telling addicts that only Jesus can cure them is not only dangerous, it could also kill them. Yes, Defiance County has a heroin problem, but the solution is NOT a soul-saving experience with Jesus. What happens when the Jesus-fix wears off? Addicts go right back the streets, looking for the only God who can satisfy their needs.

Bruce Gerencser