Lamor Whitehead, the NYC Bishop who made headlines for driving a Rolls Royce, was robbed during a live-streamed service on Sunday. The unidentified robbers fled away with $400,000 in jewelry.
Whitehead caught the limelight when he arrived at the Fifth Precinct in a Rolls Royce to negotiate the surrender of Andrew Abdullah following the fatal shooting of Goldman Sachs employee Daniel Enriquez. However, the 25-year-old was arrested at the Legal Aid Society offices in Manhattan.
Whitehead Was Speaking About Losing Faith Before Being Robbed
In the incident which took place during the service on Sunday morning, three masked gunmen were seen appearing during the live stream around 11.41 am. Whitehead was giving the sermon at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie. He was seen wearing a maroon suit with a gold-trimmed collar and sleeve cuffs and wearing a long gold chain and a large ring on each finger at the time.
"How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die?" Whitehead was heard saying just before the robbers barged in. All of a sudden Whitehead proceeds to duck under the podium with his hands and knees placed on the floor. He is heard repeatedly saying, "All right, all right," as the armed men enter.
While one of the robbers walks past the bishop, while looking straight towards the camera, other one proceeds towards him. The New York Post reported that the robbers decamped with $400,000 worth of jewelry from Whitehead, his wife and possibly churchgoers.
Social Media Disses the Flashy Bishop
The clip of the robbery surfaced on the social media despite the church taking down the live stream. Many users slammed Whitehead for wearing so much gold.
"I don't recall Jesus or any of his Disciples having bling or fancy clothes, cars etc. I mean, if they did, surely the last supper would be the one occasion where you bring the bling & your best out. Hum, maybe Vatican can shed some light," tweeted a user.
"@LamorWhitehead while these thieves need to be caught and punished, but you Sir should be embarrassed for owning and wearing such symbols of opulence during a service," wrote another user.
"What business does a Bishop have with 400k worth of jewelry on? Bishop Lamor Whitehead you was asking to be robbed!" read another tweet.
