Footage From Stolen Cameras Help Identify Suspect After Theft At Del City Church, Police Say

In just a matter of hours, Del City police identified and located a man suspected of stealing three surveillance cameras from a local church.

It all began overnight this week at the Midway Village Baptist Church.

“A white male subject on a small, BMX-style bicycle approached the Midway Village Baptist Church and began beating on the cameras of the building with a small branch. He was unable to knock the cameras down, so he retrieved a trash can. He was able to climb on top of it and stole three surveillance cameras,” Del City police Maj. Bradley Rule said.

Surveillance footage recorded the entire crime from the cameras the robber took off with.

However, that footage was stored on a backup system.

Church steward and Del City Mayor Floyd Eason discovered the cameras were gone Wednesday morning.

Eason turned to the existing surveillance video to see what happened.

“We looked back and got a great shot of the guy sticking his face right in the camera, stealing it,” Eason said.

Eason took that footage to Rule, who posted images of the suspect online.

“We put it on social media yesterday afternoon, and within about two hours, someone saw him here on the street,” Rule said.

The suspect was identified as Dennis Norrbom, and he was found just a few blocks from the church.

Police said he confessed to the crime.

“It is disappointing that they steal from a church. We put those cameras up there because we had had our air conditioning system burglarized,” Eason said.

According to Eason, a company has already donated new cameras to the church, which were installed and are recording.

“Just because you take the camera, the image that the camera caught before you unplugged it is still recorded somewhere. So, just because you take the camera with you doesn't mean you get away with it,” Rule said.