Thou shalt not steal!
A Connecticut pastor beat a teen trying to carjack his vehicle during a visit to Baltimore in late June and tried to offer him mercy after he “picked the wrong car,” the chaplain said.
Kenneth Moales Jr., who serves as the Bishop-Elect for the Pentecostal Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bridgeport, tackled a would-be carjacker who held him at gunpoint and pinned the suspect to the ground, according to shocking footage obtained by News 12 Connecticut.
The suspect who approached the pastor’s car, one of three teenagers arrested in connection with the late-night carjacking, asked for the time before pulling a gun on the clergyman and demanded he get out of the vehicle, Moales told police.
“I knew something wasn’t right when I went to grab him with my car, he’s pulling up his ski mask over his face and puts the gun to the window and says, ‘Get out of the car now.’ (I) start to think, ‘What is going on? Like, I’m about to get carjacked,” Moales told News 12.
But, even while being held at gunpoint, the chaplain planned on going down swinging.
“He’s placed materialism over my life, and unfortunate for him, he picked the wrong car,” Moales told the outlet.
Moales clambered out of his car and slammed the suspect onto the pavement, pinning him to the ground, according to a video of the altercation.
The suspect eventually freed himself and was able to get a few licks in before speeding off with Moales’ vehicle, police said.
During the fight, Moales said that once he realized the assailant was just a teenager, he tried to show him mercy, but the suspect just grabbed his discarded shoe and gun before bolting.
“To be honest with you, I’m more hurt that he didn’t have respect for me as a pastor, that after giving him a chance. You know, we already fought you, obviously, I obviously have the advantage over you, and I didn’t take that chance while you were down,” Moales told the outlet.
The pastor was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and is on the mend, according to a statement from his congregation.
Moales’ vehicle was recovered the following day and police arrested three male suspects; a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 19-year-old.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott assured that he would hold the young men accountable.
In the last week alone, at least nine teenagers were arrested for two separate carjackings, including some who were already wearing ankle monitors after being caught for different crimes, police said.
Moales’ properties in the East End of Bridgeport, including the Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love and the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, were foreclosed on in 2022 after he was unable to pay a staggering $8 million worth of unpaid mortgage fees, the CT Post reported.
The Post reached out to Moales’ congregation for comment.
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