A South Gate man was arrested on suspicion of breaking into and vandalizing a 106-year-old Catholic church building in Irwindale, police said.
Irwindale police were called to Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission at 16239 Arrow Highway on Wednesday after a witness reported seeing someone at the front door, police said in a news release.
When officers arrived, they found someone had shattered a stained glass window and broken into the mission, police said.
The suspect was identified as Martin Garcia, 36.
According to the police statement, Garcia had ransacked the inside of the mission and was booked on vandalism charges.
Built from thousands of rocks from the San Gabriel River that were carried in wheelbarrows and with donkeys, Our Lady of Guadalupe opened in 1917, when the first Mass was celebrated inside the small chapel.
In 1990, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles found it would not be able to pay for needed improvements to make the church able to withstand a major earthquake. Irwindale officials took over the church that year, paying $270,000 for the 100-by-200-foot chapel and the adjacent lot. The city now makes the chapel available for rental.
Salvador Hernandez
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