Former pastor accused of stealing nearly $50,000 from Dothan church

DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — The former pastor of Greater Beulah Baptist Church in Dothan faces theft charges after Dothan Police Investigators claimed he stole thousands from the church before stepping down from the leadership role.

Darryl Roberts was arrested on Friday, April 5, and charged with theft in the first degree. He bonded out that same day.

According to police spokesperson Lt. Ronald Hall, between April 20, 2022, and February 28, 2023, Roberts took around $48,000 from Greater Beulah and Buelahland Academy, the church’s preschool.

Lt. Hall says the money was taken from several of the church’s financial accounts.

Roberts left Greater Beulah near the end of 2023 after an internal fight with the church members and leadership ended with a lawsuit against him, accusing him of filing official documents to the Houston County Probate Office and the Alabama Secretary of State with a page containing the forged signatures of the church leadership and deacons.

Roberts was also instrumental in the attempt to open a charter school at Greater Beulah, The Barnabas School of Leadership. However, those plans were shut down at the beginning of April when the Alabama Public Charter School Commission voted to deny the charter school 8-0.

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