A young couple on their first date decided to break into a Hendersonville, Tennessee church so they could play the piano, and wound up in jail. The pair has been charged with burglary and theft.
WKRN-TV reports that 19-year-old Danielle Salvato and 20-year-old Sebastian Spencer met in person for a first date after they connected through a social app.
Hendersonville Police told the local news outlet the couple confessed to the crime. The man and woman claimed they broke into the Indian Lake Peninsula Church because they wanted to play the piano because they knew churches had pianos.
Police said a surveillance video recorded at the church showed a 2004 orange Ford Mustang pulling into the parking lot at 12:50 a.m. on Thursday, according to WKRN.
The video also showed Salvato and Spencer entering the church building through an unlocked door. According to police, they entered the sanctuary where the couple claimed they played the piano for about 30 minutes.
Police said as the couple exited the sanctuary, they stole four Bibles, two drumsticks, and a collection plate.
Police later said Salvato took the collection plate as a souvenir, according to WKRN.
“Both subjects admitted to detectives that they were looking for a piano to play because they both play the piano, they knew churches had pianos so they were looking for an unlocked church to play the piano,” Det. Stephan Fye told the station.
The next morning, the church’s pastor discovered the burglary and called the police.
After viewing the video footage and identifying the vehicle through the city’s License Plate Reader System, HPD located and questioned Salvato at her workplace, according to The Hendersonville Standard.
The newspaper reports the young woman confessed that she and her friend had entered the church to play music but they ended up taking the items without any real reason. Salvato handed over three Bibles, the offering plate, and a drumstick to the police.
Spencer was located after police used Salvato’s cell phone to identify and locate him. He too confessed to the burglary and gave police another Bible and the other drumstick.
Salvato and Spencer have both been charged with misdemeanor theft and felony burglary. They are scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court at 9:00 am on Sept. 14, according to the Hendersonville Police Department’s Facebook page.
They were both released on a $3,500 bond, according to The Standard.
“They just admitted it was dumb, probably should not have done it. They knew it was a mistake inherently,” Fye told WKRN. “They did not apologize.”
Indian Lake Peninsula Church Administrative Pastor Drew Altom told the station he would counsel the young people to learn something from the incident.
“I would tell them don’t let this one incident define you,” he said. “Learn something. And together, let’s continue to grow. We all make mistakes, but we are all held accountable for those mistakes as well.”
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