CLARENDON, Jamaica – A security guard of a Church was one of four men arrested after the place of worship was broken into and more than $600,000 worth of items stolen.

The men, who fled leaving the stolen items after they were accosted by police, were held following investigations by lawmen into the robbery.

It was reported that between 9:45 pm last Saturday and 12:30 am the following day, the Spalding New Testament Church in Clarendon was broken into.

The police said six speaker boxes, eight led lights and a case of tissue were stolen. The items are valued at $660,000.

Police said shortly after the robbery, the men were travelling along the main road in Spalding when they saw a police patrol, diverted onto another church compound and fled, leaving the car with the stolen items. A motorbike was also found parked beside the car.

The police seized the car and bike and recovered the stolen items. Hours later, about 5:00 am, two of the men were picked up in the town by Sergeant Romaine Brooks and a team from the Spalding Police Station.

Sergeant Brooks was a member of the patrol team that saw when the men diverted onto the other church compound.

One of the two men was the owner of the seized car and was found with a remote control for the vehicle. He was taken to his home in Ulster Spring, Trelawny, where lawmen found and seized top-shelf liquors, a crocus bag filled with cellular phones and tablets and several flat-screen televisions.

This man, police investigators later discovered, was recently released from prison after serving time for housebreaking and larceny.

Another man was also discovered to be on bail for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition. He is banned from entering St Ann and was reporting to the Belfield police in St Mary.

Police said the other two men, the Church’s security guard and the owner of the seized motorbike, were picked up after further investigations.