They've been shot at and burglarized.
And after thieves struck again, leaders of a southeast Fresno church took the law into their own hands.
These are the images captured by security cameras at Harmony Church.
A man breaks into apartments owned by the church and carries out boxes of tools and supplies.
Church members have been refurbishing these apartments to house people in need.
What the thief didn't know:
“It's under surveillance all the time,” said pastor Chad Williams.
After the break-in, church members checked the surveillance.
Pastor Williams recognized the guy.
“I'd seen him around here before. I'd never spoken with him,” Williams said.
Five days after the break-in, Pastor Williams and Deacon Gary Nicholes were returning to the church after visiting a parishioner in the hospital.
“And all of the sudden the pastor said, hey that's the guy. And I said what guy. And he said the guy who stole from us,” Nicholes said.
So this 'Starsky and Hutch' of the cloth followed the thief.
“We just tailed him for ten minutes,” Williams said.
They also called the cops who arrested the man. He's 26-year-old Arturo Ramirez.
It might seem like an extreme measure.
But consider what this church has been through in just the last four months.
In May they had their security cameras stolen...
In June, gang members shot at the church.
But the congregation has made a point of reaching out to the very part of society that has targeted them.
“We'd rather they come in and enjoy the church rather than burglarize the church of course. We believe that if you came into the church and were part of the church community we would have less people burglarizing the church,” Pastor Williams said.
