The wife of a Texas man accused of using a plumber’s truck to steal $20,000 from Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church said he worked for a delivery service at the megachurch.
Tommy Lee Barnes was arrested on Sunday and is being held on $3 million bond on charges that include theft of property and burglary.
His wife, Donna W. Barnes, told The Associated Press that she bought the truck for her husband with her own money, after a man approached them with a proposal. The rental company that she works for charges customers in the area a flat rate for delivery, and the owner said that Osteen liked to pay with cash and indicated that they could access his funds.
She said that he began taking the money from the truck on a regular basis, and that his frequent trips from the work truck caused “huge gas bills” for her.
“I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was,” Donna W. Barnes said. “I was very upset because he’s the pastor’s husband. He’s really good at bringing people in.”
According to police, someone noticed a letter from the rental company on Tuesday, suggesting that the bag of cash might be linked to the 2014 burglary.
Neighbors told the AP that on Monday, they noticed three unidentifiable white men standing around the church. One of them told them that they were “looking for something.” The neighbor then spotted Barnes, and they called the police.
An arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
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