A preacher known for his close friendship with the mayor of New York City was robbed of more than a million dollars worth of jewelry on Sunday by suspected armed robbers who broke into his church service in Brooklyn, just as he was giving a sermon on how keeping faith in the face of adversity, police said.
Among all items, which exceed $ 1 million, was a womens wedding ring, earrings, rolex watch, cavalier watch, mens gold chain, mens wedding ring, cuban chain, diamond and emerald cross, earrings, episcopalian diamond ring, episcopalian ring, cross episcopal and episcopal gold cross.
Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who embraces his flashy lifestyle and can often be seen driving around the Big Apple in his Rolls Royce, was giving a sermon at his Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry when police say three robbers broke in. They displayed weapons and demanded property of Miller-Whitehead and his wife, Asia K. DosReis-Whitehead, police said.
The service was also being broadcast live online.
In the video, which appears to have been removed from the church’s social media channels, Miller-Whitehead is heard asking, “How many of you have lost your faith because you saw someone else die?” this moments before the alleged thieves entered the church.
He is then seen falling to his hands and knees and repeatedly saying, “fine, fine,” before a suspect with a gun and a black hoodie walks into frame. The suspect, also wearing a black mask, is then seen approaching Miller-Whitehead, who was hiding behind a gold lectern, and pocketing the bishop’s jewelry.
Another suspect, dressed in similar attire, is then seen walking towards Miller-Whitehead, standing near him for a few minutes, then running off. Miller-Whitehead said in a video posted on Instagram that the alleged thieves ripped his chain from around his neck and pointed a gun at his young daughter’s face while stealing his wife’s jewelry.
Police said the suspected robbers fled in a white Mercedes that was last seen on Avenue D near the church in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. Neither Miller-Whitehead, 44, nor DosReis-Whitehead, 38, were physically injured, police said. His daughter was also uninjured.
According to the police investigation, the suspect approached the worker at the register and showed him a note asking for money, a fairly common modus operandi in these robberies. The workers have to give the money by law to avoid deaths.
In a video posted on Instagram, Miller-Whitehead said he felt a “demonic force” enter the church and wasn’t sure if the gunmen “wanted to shoot up the church or were just coming to rob the church.” He said that he is thankful that no one was hurt.
“When I saw them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everyone to get out, just get out,” said Whitehead, who on Monday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest.
A message was left seeking comment with Tomorrow’s Leading International Ministries or Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries.
Miller-Whitehead, 44, formed Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in 2013, after serving a five-year prison sentence for identity theft and grand theft. Miller-Whitehead claims that he was illegally convicted.
A city council spokesman said New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke with Miller-Whitehead after Sunday’s robbery.
“No one in this city should be the victim of an armed robbery, least of all our religious leaders and parishioners who worship in a House of God,” Adams said in a statement. “The New York Police Department is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice.”
In a video posted Monday on YouTube, Miller-Whitehead thanked the mayor for his support. She said next Sunday’s church services would go ahead as planned.
Adams, a former police captain, became close to Miller-Whitehead while serving as Brooklyn Borough President, a position he held for eight years until he became mayor in January. Miller-Whitehead made an unsuccessful bid last year to succeed Adams in that role.
In May, Miller-Whitehead made headlines for showing up at a Manhattan police station in a Rolls Royce SUV while trying to negotiate the surrender of a man accused of fatally shooting a stranger on a New York City subway train.
Miller-Whitehead told reporters at the time that she had “multiple conversations” with Adams about Andrew Abdullah’s surrender, though police eventually apprehended the suspect outside the offices of the public defender organization representing him.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Miller-Whitehead defended his jewelry-loving lifestyle, saying he’s “going to live his life the way God intended it for him.”
“It’s not about me being flashy,” Miller-Whitehead said. “This is about me, buying what I want to buy. And it is my prerogative to buy what I want to buy.”
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