Man confesses burglary after viewing “The Passion of the Christ” with his mother

Phoenix, Ariz., Mar 29, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The Arizona Tribune reported on Monday that a repentant burglar turned himself in Sunday in Mesa after watching Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.”

Turner Lee Bingham, 20, walked up on Monday into a group of policemen investigating the burglar alarm of a wireless store and confessed he had taken $80 from the register.

He also said he was responsible for five or six burglaries at other places.

Mesa police detective Ruben Quesada said that Bingham mentioned that watching the “Passion of the Christ” was his motive for turning himself in.

Tobias Bright, the store’s owner, told KNXV-TV (Channel 15) that Bingham came back to the business and apologized about eight minutes after the alarm sounded.

“I’m a Christian man, but I just kind of wish he thought about that 20 minutes earlier, before he took a baseball bat to one of my windows,” Bright said.

Bingham had seen the movie with his mother, and he felt guilty, Bright said police told him.

“I’ve seen the movie myself,” Bright said. “I think it’s the kind of movie that makes you stop and think about things for a minute.”

Bingham was booked into Maricopa County’s Madison Street Jail in Phoenix on suspicion of felony burglary.

“If you’re going to be burglarized, I don’t think it could turn out any better,” Bright said.