An intruder ransacked an workplace and broken an organ inside a La Mesa church Tuesday afternoon, and officers arrested a suspect a short while afterward a close-by constructing’s rooftop.
Police responded to the First Church of Christ, Scientist on Allison Avenue close to Palm Avenue round 12:30 p.m. after an worker discovered a person contained in the church’s workplace who claimed he was engaged on workplace computer systems.
Lea Schmidt-Rogers, who’s the church organist and likewise teaches on the church, observed the lights had been on when she arrived and noticed that the church’s Pasi pipe organ was extensively broken. Pipes had been smashed, bent and knocked to the bottom, she mentioned.
She left the constructing and referred to as 911, however the intruder took off. When officers arrived, they arrange a fringe and commenced a search.
After a few half-hour, somebody reported seeing a person matching the suspect’s description on prime of a business constructing on La Mesa Boulevard, a brief distance from the church, police mentioned.
With the help of a sheriff’s helicopter and canine officers from Nationwide Metropolis police, officers took the 24-year-old man into custody.
An organ in a La Mesa church was broken on Tuesday.
(Lea Schmidt-Rogers)
In response to La Mesa Sgt. Jose Gaytan, the person was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism. Police estimated the harm to the church at $10,000.
In an odd improvement, church employees discovered a crimson pouch containing the suspect’s delivery certificates within the pipe organ room, Gaytan mentioned. He mentioned police don’t know a motive for the incident.
Schmidt-Rogers, who has labored because the church organist for the previous decade, mentioned she thought the person might have been planning to sleep contained in the church. She had by no means seen him earlier than.
“It appeared like he was on the brink of camp for the evening, establishing a mattress and searching by means of computer systems,” she mentioned.
The person stomped on among the pipes and ripped others out of the instrument. She mentioned the organ nonetheless works however would require in depth repairs.
“It’s lacking about half of its pipes, and that’s going to price tens of hundreds of {dollars} to restore,” she mentioned.
