An intruder ransacked an office and damaged an organ inside a La Mesa church Tuesday afternoon, and officers arrested a suspect a short time later on the roof of a nearby building.
Police went to the First Church of Christ, Scientist on Allison Avenue near Palm Avenue around 12:30 p.m. after an employee found a man inside the church office who claimed he was working on desktop computers.
Lea Schmidt-Rogers, who is the church organist and also teaches at the church, noticed the lights were on when she arrived and found that the church’s Pasi organ was significantly damaged. Pipes were broken, bent and thrown to the ground, she said.
She left the building and called 911, but the intruder fled. When police arrived, they established a perimeter and began a search.
After about a half hour, someone reported seeing a man matching the suspect’s description atop a commercial building on La Mesa Boulevard, a short distance from the church, police said.
With the help of a sheriff’s helicopter and National City Police canine officers, officers arrested the 24-year-old man.
An organ at a La Mesa church was damaged Tuesday.
(Léa Schmidt-Rogers)
According to La Mesa Sgt. José Gaytan, the man was arrested on suspicion of criminal vandalism. Police estimated the damage to the church at $10,000.
Oddly, church employees found a red bag containing the suspect’s birth certificate in the organ room, Gaytan said. He said police did not know the motive behind the incident.
Schmidt-Rogers, who worked as the church’s organist for the past decade, said she believed the man may have planned to sleep inside the church. She had never seen him before.
“It looked like he was getting ready to camp for the night, set up a bed and look at computers,” she said.
The man stepped on some of the pipes and tore others off the instrument. She said the organ still works but will need significant repairs.
“It’s missing about half of its pipes, and it’s going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair,” she said.
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