Now, the man says he wants thanks or compensation. One of the hosts of the show — “The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo & Erik” on 100.3 The Bull — posed a question to the caller: “If Joel is listening right now, what would you like to say to him?”
“I’m a Christian myself,” said the man, who identified himself only as Justin. “I feel that maybe, if it’s in your heart as well, you know, pay it forward.”
Reached via social media, a man identified by local media as the plumber declined comment and asked that his last name not be used.
“I’ve told all I can tell at this time,” he said in a message.
The discovery last month set off renewed efforts by law enforcement to crack a money-heist mystery that dates back more than seven years. The saga surrounding Lakewood, the largest megachurch in the country, has since drawn national attention.
Last Thursday, Justin called into 100.3 The Bull, a local country music station, after the hosts asked listeners to share stories about finding items of value.
Justin’s story left them floored. He said he was doing plumbing work last month in a single-person bathroom at Lakewood Church when he discovered a stash of hundreds of money-filled envelopes in the wall. He contacted his supervisor and turned in the items, he said.
Members of Lakewood Church, located at 3700 Southwest Freeway, called police Nov. 10 and reported that a “large amount” of money in the form of cash, checks and money orders was found inside a wall during a renovation project, according to a statement from the Houston Police Department released Friday.
Officers took inventory and documented the undisclosed amount of money and left it with Lakewood.
Evidence from the recovered money suggests the loot is linked to a 2014 case, police said. That spring, someone stole $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks from a safe in the church. The church had said the money and checks taken were from a recent weekend’s collections and were fully insured. At the time, investigators said they were reviewing security footage, but the case apparently went cold.
Now, a Houston police spokesperson said detectives with the department’s burglary and theft division have re-opened the 2014 case and dedicated more resources to the investigation in light of the new workable lead.
No arrest has been made and no charges have been filed, police said.
After the initial theft, Crime Stoppers Houston and Lakewood Church were offering a combined $25,000 reward.
But in 2016, church leaders removed their supplemental reward offering of $20,000 and instead donated that money to the nonprofit, said Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers.
Crime Stoppers will offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an identification, arrest or charge against suspects in this case, she said. The same is true for every felony case in Harris County, she said.
“We don’t historically or traditionally offer rewards for people who find stolen items,” she said.
Mankarious said she learned about the plumber’s discovery through media reports about the shocking radio call.
“I thought it was wonderful,” she said. “He’s a Good Samaritan — he turned it in. It’s another example of people doing what makes Houston so wonderful.”
anna.bauman@chron.com