CV NEWS FEED // Police arrested a man accused of vandalizing a 106-year-old historic former Catholic mission church in southern California.
The Irwindale police department said in a public statement that they arrested Martin Garcia, a 36-year-old man, in connection with the vandalism.
Last Wednesday, police responded to a call concerning a suspicious person at the entrance to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Irwindale, California. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Garcia inside the church building.
Upon inspecting the church, officers discovered smashed windows and destroyed property, and that Garcia had ransacked the property. Officers arrested Garcia at the scene on vandalism charges.
“Job well done by our patrol personnel,” said the Irwindale Police Department in a Facebook post.
Locals built Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in 1917. To construct the church, volunteers brought 1000’s of rocks from the nearby San Gabriel River to the site by donkeys and wheelbarrows. The parish opened as a mission church that year.
In 1997, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles could not pay for necessary renovations to the church, so they sold it to the city of Irwindale for $270,000. The city now rents the church out for a variety of functions. The city’s website notes that renters may bring alcohol and a DJ to the premises but must have security present.
