LYNDEN, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A man was arrested earlier this week after thousands of dollars of bleachers were taken from a church in Lynden.

Lynden Police Chief Jeremy Bos says a staff member with North County Christ the King Church reported that two sets of aluminum bleachers went missing on Jan. 23.

The bleachers, valued at $14,000, were stored in the alley behind the church.

Investigators found that the bleachers had been cut up and sold for scrap at a pair of local metal recycling companies.

They later used surveillance footage and witnesses to identify a 26-year-old Bellingham man as a potential suspect.

Lynden police officers arrested the man on Tuesday on suspicion of theft, malicious mischief and trafficking stolen property, in addition to a separate theft warrant from an unrelated case.

He remains at the Whatcom County Jail without bail.