Some people would do anything for money.
And this time, three robbers managed to rob a pastor, in the middle of the day, during his Sunday church service, while he was livestreaming his sermon.
The robbers who were dressed in black, were masked and armed. They approached the blinged-up Bishop, and stole every jewelry he had on him, which was worth around $400,000.
Lamor Miller-Whitehead who was dressed in a maroon suit and wearing a long gold chain and a large ring on each finger, was speaking to his congregation.
"How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die with what you were about to go through," he said, just when the three armed robbers suddenly burst into the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Brooklyn, New York, U.S..
"All right, all right," he said, when he fell to his knees, as the robbers pointed their guns at him, stripped him from his jewelry and cash.
The robbers left using a white Mercedes-Benz.
"When I see them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody, 'Get down,'" Whitehead said in a video posted on Instagram.
"I didn’t know if they wanted to shoot my church up or if they were coming for a robbery."
"As I got down, one went to my wife and took all her jewelry and had the gun in front of my 8-month-old baby's face. Took off my bishop's ring, my wedding band and took off my bishop's chain, and then I had chains underneath my robe and he started tapping my neck to see if anything else. So that means they knew. They watched and they knew that I have other jewelry," he explained.
"That means they knew [...] they watched and they knew that I had other jewelry," he said.
"My church is traumatized. The women and children are still crying. Babies are still crying," said Whitehead.
Fortunately, the Bishop and his family, as well as the around 100 congregants that attended, were not harmed.
The Bishop told his followers on Instagram that he was doing fine, and that he was lucky. He also asked for anyone with information leading to an arrest to send him a direct message.
"These men, they need to turn themselves in," Whitehead said. "I forgive you and I'm praying for you, and I hope that God delivers you from the mindset of who you are at this time."
"We’re pushing. We’re still doing what we need to do. I’m not a person from the suburbs; I’m from Brooklyn, I’m from the city. I understand the streets. This bishop, I’m not scared."
"I was born without jewelry, jewelry don’t make me," he added.
Previously, the Bishop made headlines when he negotiated the surrender of a subway shooting suspect wanted for killing a Goldman Sachs employee. He also made headlines when he ran for Brooklyn borough president, but was defeated by Antonio Reynoso.
Bishop Lamar Whitehead is also linked to multiple A-list rappers and Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City.
"I was arrested at 15 years old […] and because people embraced me when I was arrested, I embrace Lamor Whitehead," the Mayor said in 2016. "I will continue to give him the support and guidance that was given to me to become a cop, a state senator, and a borough president."
The Bishop was once convicted in 2016 for a auto-loan fraud scheme, where he was charged with identity theft and grand larceny.
Whitehead then served five years in prison, and had to pay $2 million.
After he was released in 2013, he reformed, ordained, and consecrated as a Bishop.
He then worked with younger generations, and started helping them do better. He also invested his time mentoring rappers and other influencers.
The thing that makes him unique, is his flashy lifestyle.
Besides wearing expensive jewelry, the Bishop also serves the people while driving a Rolls Royce Cullinan, and dripping in Fendi and other Italian designers.
Speaking about why he had so many expensive things on him, he said that: "A lot of people are going to say, ‘Why are you so flashy?’ It’s my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase if I work hard for it."
His flashy attribute is the reason why Bishop Lamar Whitehead is also known on the internet as the "Bishop of Bling."
While he considered that his flashy attribute is the reason why he was targeted, the Bishop also believes that the robbers robbed him because of the publicity he received when he helped turn in the suspect wanted in the fatal subway shooting.
"I turned him in, but the media called me 'the bling, bling bishop.' They had my Rolls-Royce caw all over everywhere, and I feel that that played a part in this," said Whitehead.
"I think all pastors should be able to get permits for pistols."
It's worth noting that the police initially pegged the cost of the jewelry at $400,000, but various sources estimated that the value of the jewelry the Bishop had on him, was actually more than $1 million.
