Long Beach church contractor arrested in Starkville

A Long Beach man who owns a contracting company was arrested in Starkville, where he was hired to work on a church sanctuary, on a charge of felony false pretense, officials said.

The Commercial Dispatch reported that Donald Andrew Crowther, 69, who owns TCM Companies, a Long Beach contracting business, turned himself in to the Starkville Police Department on Thursday.

Authorities said Crowther had previously admitted in court that his contracting company had falsified checks that were paid to contractors and falsely reported to Second Baptist Church in Starkville.

Crowther's company was hired to do sanctuary expansion on the church.

He was taken to the Oktibbeha County Jail. Crowther's bond was set at $100,000.

This story was originally published April 23, 2016 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Long Beach church contractor arrested in Starkville ."