A 27-year-old San Dimas man was arrested on suspicion of vandalizing a Newport Beach church in the early hours of Saturday morning, police said.
Rev. Paul Capetz, the senior pastor at Christ Church by the Sea on Balboa Peninsula, said he awoke to a voicemail from Newport Beach police around 3 a.m. Saturday about the vandalism. Newport Beach Police informed him that a man had apparently taken a baseball bat to the church’s stained glass windows and doors, according to Capetz.
“They were very valuable stained glass windows given by members a long time ago in honor of their loved ones,” Capetz said.
The man was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and transported into Orange County Jail later Saturday morning, Newport Beach Police Department Sgt. Sabrina Fabbri said. Further details, including his name, were not immediately released.
He is not believed to have had any connection to the church, Capetz said. It was not immediately clear what prompted the vandalism.
Christ Church by the Sea plans to resume worship Sunday morning after more than a dozen volunteers assisted with cleaning up the church Saturday afternoon, Capetz said, describing the vandalism as “traumatic” for the community.
The church’s physical recovery will be costly and likely require at least $40,000 in repairs, Capetz said. The church will work to raise money on GoFundMe, he added. For now, the doors and windows will remain boarded up.
“People should know how vulnerable and violated we feel when something like this happens,” Capetz said. “I feel like I was punched in the gut. This is Easter and we are trying to celebrate a joyous message .. it was just a big huge curve ball today.”
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