January 19, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
A Dowelltown man, who eluded a deputy during a pursuit last April and then got into more trouble with the law after he broke into the Dry Creek Baptist Church and stole a 2002 Chevy church van appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court Wednesday, January 18.
41-year-old Kenneth Adam Wright of Vandergriff Hollow Road, Dowelltown entered a plea to charges of aggravated burglary, burglary, and auto burglary. He received a total sentence of five years. A restitution amount is to be determined. Wright was given jail credit of 450 days. His actual sentences for each offense are five years for the aggravated burglary, four years for the burglary, and two years for auto burglary to run concurrently as one five-year term.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said the story began Sunday night, April 3, 2022 when a deputy spotted a man, who he thought to be Wright, at DeKalb Market. Store video surveillance later confirmed that the man was Wright. Knowing that Wright had active warrants against him for failure to appear and was to be held without bond, the officer drove into the parking lot of DeKalb Market to speak to Wright but he jumped in his vehicle and fled. The deputy then activated his blue lights and sirens and began a pursuit of Wright’s vehicle on Nashville Highway which reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour with Wright, at times, traveling on the wrong side of the highway almost hitting several oncoming automobiles. Wright stopped at Wilder Hollow in Dowelltown before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot.
On Wednesday, April 6, 2022 someone from the Dry Creek Baptist Church on Dry Creek Road near Dowelltown discovered that the church van was missing and that the church building itself had been broken into and vandalized. It appeared someone had entered the building through the return to the central heat and air unit. Sheriff Ray said investigators believe the break-in and theft had actually occurred sometime on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Three hours after the church burglary and theft were reported Wednesday, April 6 at 2:36 p.m. an Alexandria Police officer, having heard about it, spotted a van behind a church in Alexandria, which turned out to be the one stolen from Dry Creek Baptist Church. Two detectives from the sheriff’s department responded and upon arrival saw someone fitting Wright’s description. As the detectives approached, the man tried to flee on foot but they caught up and placed him in custody. The man was Wright.
Sheriff Ray said Wright admitted to stealing the church van, valued at $8,500 and breaking into the church and vandalizing the heating and air system causing over $1,000 in damage.
In the aggravated burglary case, Wright was a co-defendant with three others charged with breaking into a Liberty home in May, 2020.
Sheriff Ray said deputies responded to a complaint of a prowler around a residence on Old Highway 53 in Liberty and discovered the burglary upon arrival. Detectives were notified and started an investigation which revealed that the foursome had broken into the residence twice on May 29, 2020 and stole several items with a total value of $7,395 including an Xbox 360, large red craftsman tool box, record player, paint rollers, 2 trail cameras, plastic tool box, a jump box, samurai katana, DVDs, tea set, hunting blind, Holy Bible vinyl record, shop vac, solar battery charger, antique oil lamp, pots and other miscellaneous items.