ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis Circuit Court judge has signed an arrest warrant for a man wanted for stealing a church bell from outside a Soulard church last Halloween.

Christian Matthew Hamra, 49, was charged with stealing – $25,000 or more in late January. Two suspected cohorts, Timothy Oberhaus, 45, and James Schuman, 54, were charged with stealing – $25,000 or more and attempted stealing – $25,000 or more, respectively.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office claim the Hamra and the others were part of a group that went to Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church the night before Halloween and knocked the bronze bell off its stand. In the overnight hours of Nov 1., 2023, the group returned and took the bell.

The thieves placed the bell on a cart, took it out of the front gate, and loaded it onto a trailer behind a truck. The theft was captured on the church’s security cameras.

The bell first rang at the original Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in 1849. The present church, dedicated in 1875, houses five bells, each the size of Big Ben in London. The stolen bell, a bronze artifact weighing between 500 and 800 pounds, had been displayed in the rectory’s front yard for several decades.

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The estimated value of the bell was said to be nearly $30,000, with additional costs to repair the support stand.

Fortunately, the stolen bell was recovered on November 15.

Oberhaus was arrested on Jan. 26, 2024. He remains out on bond until trial. He’s due in court on March 26.

Schuman was arrested on March 6 and remains out on bond until trial. He’s due in court on April 8.

Hamra is still at large. An arrest warrant was issued on March 8.

A fourth man involved in the theft, Melvin James Birchfield, 53, was charged on January 10 with receiving stolen property. A witness confirmed Birchfield was in possession of the bell.

Police searched Birchfield’s residence and uncovered various stolen items, including a bronze plaque from Jefferson Barracks and 54 firearms. Birchfield allegedly confessed to stealing the plaque and the church bell.

Birchfield posted bond on January 19, but was later arrested in St. Louis County on unrelated charges.

Anyone with information on Hamra’s whereabouts is asked to contact the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at 314-231-1212.

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