Life.Church security guard charged in collection plate theft

A security officer at a south Oklahoma City church has been charged with attempted grand larceny after the ministry's leaders set up a sting that prosecutors say caught him stealing from the church collection plate.

James Lee Smith, 52, of Oklahoma City, is accused of stealing three envelopes of cash from Life.Church South Oklahoma City while he was employed to provide security at the church, 7800 S Walker.

Smith was an Oklahoma County Sheriff's reserve deputy at the time of the incident, but Tuesday, Mark Opgrande, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said Smith's reserve status was terminated once the investigation came to light.

Church staff members conducting an investigation placed four donation envelopes into a collection plate after the 10:30 a.m. service on Dec. 17, an investigator with the sheriff's office reported in a court affidavit filed in Oklahoma Country District Court. The four envelopes each contained cash in small bills plus small GPS tracking devices.

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