LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thousands of stolen items were found in a former church and Christian school on Tuesday.Saint Matthews police, along with loss prevention units from Kroger and Target stores made the bust at the intersection of Blue Lick Road and Bonaventure Boulevard.
Years ago the church with an attached parsonage belonged to the Bonaventure Boulevard Church of Christ, but residents said things changed when the church left.
On Tuesday police arrested Troy Curtis. He's charged with engaging in organized crime and receiving stolen property.
“For a while I've known something shady has been going on,” said resident Thomas Gnadinger.
Gnadinger said over the years he's seen his neighborhood change from a trusted community church and school into a residential home that brought unwelcomed activity.
“Slowly but surely they started having a lot of traffic coming in. You know, like the church used to have. More than the church actually, you know,” said Gnadinger.
Police said it was part of a fencing operation that's been under investigation since 2010.
While investigators wouldn't make an official statement, they did explain that the old church building is filled with stolen property from all over the county.
They believe the operation may have spanned over several states.
During Tuesday morning's raid police questioned a few people found in the home.
They will not comment on the owner of the property or if he is a suspect.
Gnadinger said the resident had many visitors, especially in the dark of night, with van loads of boxes. He thought it might be drug activity.
“Packages, you know, coming and going. Not UPS packages, not men in big brown trucks or vans or the mailman bringing packages. I'm sure they did, but most didn't look like they were from the United States Parcel Service,” he said.
Police said now they have a huge task of trying to identify all of the stolen property.
There is enough stolen property that police said it could fill a few trucks.
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