SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Hillburn Drive Grace Baptist Church on the city\u2019s Southwest Side has been forced to deal with the same problem twice in just a few months: thieves stealing the church\u2019s air-conditioning condenser.<\/p>\n
The first theft happened in May, the church\u2019s deacon Gary Grieco told KSAT. After replacing the equipment, church leaders added a metal security cage around the outdoor unit in an effort to protect it.<\/p>\n
But the added protection did not stop the thieves.<\/p>\n
Greico said the condenser was stolen again in August, leaving the church without one of the two AC condenser units it needs to properly cool its sanctuary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 87 degrees in here right now.\u201d Grieco told KSAT on Thursday. \u201cNormally in this area with two running AC\u2019s, we\u2019d like it to be around 72-73 degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grieco has attended the church for nearly three decades \u2014 about as long as the AC condenser equipment that was stolen had been there.<\/p>\n
He said the first theft left church members wondering why they had been targeted. After the May theft, the church added a metal enclosure around the condenser in the front of the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey literally cut through the bolts,\u201d Grieco added. \u201cThey cut through the back. Then they turned the cage over, and when they turned it over, they took the AC again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church now faces another replacement bill. Grieco said the church\u2019s insurance deductible is high enough that filing a claim would not provide much financial benefit. Instead, the church will rely on contributions from its members to help cover the cost.<\/p>\n
He estimated a completely new system could cost between $10,000 and $15,000. The church is also looking into whether it can find a used replacement for the outdoor component.<\/p>\n
The missing condenser is making a noticeable difference inside the church.<\/p>\n
Hillburn Drive Grace Baptist Church has another AC unit on the back of the building, but Grieco said it only cools the back half.<\/p>\n
In the sanctuary, church leaders are using fans and a portable AC unit to help with the heat.<\/p>\n
The church is now looking at additional security measures before replacing the stolen equipment again, including reinforcing the metal enclosure and installing cameras around the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, we didn\u2019t have surveillance video,\u201d Grieco said. \u201cNow we\u2019re going to have that and hopefully it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is unclear why the thieves targeted the AC condenser equipment.<\/p>\n
Grieco told KSAT one possibility is that they were interested in the copper and other metals inside the condenser that could potentially be resold.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, it wouldn\u2019t be worth it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Church leaders filed a police report with the San Antonio Police Department, but the investigation is now closed. No one has been caught in connection to the theft. For Grieco, the damage extends beyond the cost of replacing the equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know the burden you\u2019re not only putting on the finances of the church, but the people who come to the church,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The church is now working to secure replacement equipment but said it could take a while to find the most affordable one.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019d like to help Hillburn Drive Grace Baptist Church search for new AC condenser equipment, reach out to Gary Greico at 210-675-5484 or 210-912-2570.<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Hillburn Drive Grace Baptist Church on the city\u2019s Southwest Side has been forced to deal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[294,82,84,83,15378,5502],"class_list":["post-427599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-crime","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-southwest-side","tag-theft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}