Pistol Packing Preacher Pinches Pilferer

This is amusing. A minister, who just happens to be a former police officer, helped nab a car thief who had stolen the car of one of his parishioners. The crime fighting pastor, James Kilgore, always carries a gun and a set of handcuffs in his fanny pack.

James Kilgore, pastor at Taft Free Will Baptist Church, said he always keeps a gun and handcuffs in his fanny pack. They came in handy on Tuesday, when one of his elderly parishioners left Bible study to find his car had vanished.

Kilgore and Walter Brenton, 72, drove around looking for Brenton's 1986 Ford Crown Victoria, and spotted the alleged thief driving it a few blocks away.

The pastor followed the driver until he crashed, tackled him as he crawled out of the car and then handcuffed him until police arrived on the scene.

Ronald Lee Allen, 46, of Taft, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto and being in possession of stolen property, said Kern County sheriff's Sgt. Martin Downs.

Kilgore was a member of the Bakersfield police department at some point before becoming a minister. The police, incidentally, do not encourage civilians to try this, but even they admit it worked out well. As for the pastor's congregation, they are likely to be a little more careful around him. Especially if he's wearing the fanny pack.

(As an aside here, the police officer who ran my carry class told us that police officers assume that any man wearing a fanny pack is using it to pack heat. Just thought I'd share that with anyone who thinks they are being clever using one of those fanny pack holsters.)