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Man Pleads Guilty To Breaking Into Ohio Churches

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A man has pleaded guilty to kicking in the doors and looting more than two dozen central Ohio churches to help feed his drug habit.

Twenty-six-year-old Cash Yoakem on Tuesday pleaded guilty in Chillicothe, south of Columbus, to 44 counts of felony breaking-and-entering. Prosecutors said he broke in and stole from at least 27 Ross County churches, some more than once, from October through January.

The churches reported the theft of everything from televisions and copper wire to heirloom communion trays. Yoakem is also charged with breaking into two car washes.

Prosecutors are pushing for four years in prison when Yoakem is sentenced June 6. His attorney is urging the judge to stick to sentencing guidelines, which call for probation.