A man was arrested after reportedly breaking into Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and damaging a mosaic and church pews with a hammer early Tuesday morning.
Fr. Pedro Lopez said he saw the suspect being taken into custody after hearing a banging sound around early Tuesday morning at the parish, which is at 227 Nopal St. in Santa Barbara.
“It was terrible,” Lopez said. “Especially when we saw the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, because she means so much to the people of our community, and in particular to our parish, because she’s the patroness of our parish, which is named after her.”
Commander Chris Payne of the Santa Barbara Police Department said they received a report of glass breaking at the parish around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived on scene they found the suspect near the damaged mosaic holding a hammer, the suspect than charged at the officers with the hammer and the officers used a taser to stop him, Payne said.
Lopez said he heard some banging around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday from the residence across the street from the parish. When he went to see what was going on, he said he saw that Santa Barbara police officers had apparently tased and handcuffed a man who had jumped the fence to try and flee the property.
Damage was found to the handles of the front door of the parish and handles were broken on the side door, which Lopez believes is how the suspect entered the parish. Some of the pews appeared damaged by a hammer as well as the mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside.
Nothing appeared to have been stolen, Lopez said.
The damage comes just over a week before the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.
“People are going to be very upset when they find out what’s happened,” Lopez said.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office arrest logs show that police arrested Antonio Dorado Arroyo, 53, Tuesday morning for vandalizing a place of worship, assault with a deadly weapon that’s not a firearm, second-degree burglary, resisting officers, and vandalism of $400 or more.
No hometown is listed in the arrest log, which says he is a “transient.”
Records show that he remained in custody at the County Main Jail near Santa Barbara with a $50,000 bail as of Wednesday.
He was treated at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital before being booked into the jail according to Payne.
The damage to the parish is expected to cost thousands of dollars to repair. Lopez said they plan to have someone come see what can be done to repair the mosaic or if it will have to be replaced.
“As much as it hurts to see what happened, the presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe is always with us,” Lopez said. “We are very much comforted by her love for the people and all who have devotion to her, so we will continue to celebrate in her honor and to do the best we can to respond with love to the love that she shows us.”
