Police nab man accused of trying to steal Naperville church keyboard

Naperville police are investigating whether a man they say attempted to steal a keyboard from a church Saturday is responsible for the theft of musical equipment from another church earlier in the week.

Police said Douglas A. Deem, 46, of Naperville, tried to pilfer the musical instrument Saturday morning from Knox Presbyterian Church at 1105 Catalpa Lane after telling a custodian he wanted to be let into the sanctuary to pray. When the custodian and church officials noticed he was no longer in the pews a few minutes later, they caught him trying to make off with the keyboard.

Church officials said the suspect begged to be let go, complaining he had fallen on hard times. When he released the keyboard, he fled and police were called.

Naperville police Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said responding officers found Deem at a nearby grocery store and detained two others waiting in the parking lot at the church. Deem eventually was charged with misdemeanor attempted theft. The keyboard was valued at less than $300.

Hoffman said the two people in the car were associated with Deem, but were not charged because the extent of their involvement is unknown.

Hoffman said investigators are trying to determine if Deem also is responsible for stealing two sound mixing boards from St. Raphael's Catholic Church at 1215 Modaff Road. The units, valued at $2,000, were stolen sometime between late Thursday and early Saturday last week. No signs of forced entry were discovered.

Deem is being held at the DuPage County jail in Wheaton in lieu of a $20,000 bond.

He pleaded guilty last July to a misdemeanor fraud charge stemming from a November 2007 arrest in Naperville. Before that he was convicted of retail theft and battery of a merchant in 2006, retail theft in 2004, and theft of services and felony theft in 1999. His first serious run-in with DuPage County law enforcement came in May 1998.

According to court records, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and patronizing a prostitute after being arrested in Elmhurst.

Court records also indicate he owes the county more than $3,000 in fines and fees from his various convictions.