ROCKINGHAM — Two men have been arrested in connection with a series of thefts and property damage involving heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at multiple churches and businesses in the East Rockingham area.
The incidents targeted Abundant Life Christian Ministries Church on School Street, First Pentecostal Holiness Church on Hannah Pickett Avenue, Community Church and Sound Doctrine Fellowship Church on Mill Road, Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Church on Airport Road, the Family Dollar store on Airport Road and a community center on Mill Street.
Investigators said the thefts involved repeated damage to HVAC systems and removal of metal components over several days in early May.
Samuel Russell Smith II, 31, of Rockingham, was arrested around 2 a.m. Monday after deputies responded to a breaking and entering at the community center at 166 Mill Street. Authorities said Smith was found inside a fenced enclosure containing HVAC equipment and attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended.
He faces charges including felony possession of burglary tools, felony attempted larceny, felony injury to real property to obtain nonferrous metals and misdemeanor injury to personal property. He was booked into the Richmond County Jail without bond.
Curtis Daniel Hicks, 23, of Rockingham, was arrested later Monday following an investigation into a series of thefts and damage at Sound Doctrine Fellowship Church, 342 Mill Road, and the Family Dollar store on Airport Road.
Investigators said the church’s HVAC system was damaged and components were stolen between May 2 and May 9, 2026. Additional damage and theft at the Family Dollar store occurred between May 6 and May 11, 2026.
Hicks faces multiple felony charges, including larceny, possession of stolen property, conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses, obtaining property by false pretenses and injury to real property to obtain nonferrous metals, along with additional related counts tied to both locations. He was also booked into the Richmond County Jail without bond.
According to authorities, the investigation is ongoing.