Tyler Smith

A two-time felon is accused of breaking into a Butler church where he used to serve as an occasional handyman and stealing the pastor’s personal checkbook, authorities said.

Tyler D. Smith, 31, of Butler later allegedly forged one of the checks for $1,500.

Butler police Monday obtained an arrest warrant for Smith on charges of burglary, forgery, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception.

The maintenance man at Covenant Presbyterian Church on East Jefferson Street notified police May 6 after he discovered the overnight break-in.

Officers found a busted window on the side of the building where the burglar got inside, police said. It was not immediately known if anything was stolen.

But on May 14, the Rev. James Swanson informed police of several items missing from the church, including $8 from a donation envelope, a 4-inch pocket knife and his own checkbook.

He also learned that a check from his bank account was fraudulently cashed for $1,500. The check appeared to have been issued to Smith and the word “car” was noted on the memo line, according to court documents.

Swanson told investigators that he did not write the check and that the endorsement signature on it was not his, police said.

Upon examination of the signature, documents said, it appeared to be similar to the signature that police compared it to on Smith’s driver’s license.

The pastor already knew the defendant. Smith, he noted, previously helped the church with several handyman jobs.

Police, in charging documents, said Swanson’s bank reimbursed him for the loss after he filed a fraud report.

Court records showed that Smith has an extensive criminal history with convictions, primarily for theft-related crimes, in Butler and Allegheny counties.

Among his convictions are two felonies, both in Allegheny County, for theft and conspiracy to commit theft.