El Paso man arrested in satanic vandalism, burglary of Catholic church
An El Paso police and FBI task force on Thursday arrested a man accused of desecrating a Catholic church with satanic graffiti during a burglary last week.
The West Texas Border Corruption Task Force arrested Isaac Jordan Soto-Olivarez, 27, who is accused of burglarizing Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church on the Sunday night of July 16 in Northeast El Paso.
The burglary occurred about 9:30 p.m. and was recorded by security cameras at the church, located at 10000 Pheasant Road in the Parkland neighborhood.
Satanic graffiti, desecration of El Paso church
Crosses were turned upside down, holy oil dumped out and "666" (which is used to signify "the Number of the Beast," meaning the devil or the antichrist) was written on several items inside the church, including a rosary candle, a mirror and on the tabernacle in a prayer room, police reported.
Soto-Olivarez was allegedly identified by investigators as the burglar recorded on video causing more than $4,000 in estimated damages to the church, police said.
On Thursday, Soto-Olivarez was located by the task force officers and allegedly attempted to flee before being quickly taken into custody, police said.
A federal search warrant was served by West Texas Border Corruption Task Force and items stolen from the church were recovered at his home on Angora Loop in the Shearman neighborhood of the Northeast, police said.
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Soto-Olivarez was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal mischief-damage to a place of worship, evading and resisting arrest and drug possession, according to an El Paso County Jail log. He is incarcerated on bonds totaling $58,000 at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.
Soto-Olivarez, who has "656" (that's six-five-six) tattooed above his right eyebrow, which is the area code for Juárez, had been released from jail in late April on a $15,000 bond after being arrested in January on charges of burglary of a building and attempting to escape, according to jail records. Those cases are pending in court.
Church cleaned, blessed
Since the burglary, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church has been cleaned, repaired and blessed and has begun replacing what had been stolen, the parish priest said in Sunday's church bulletin. New security measures have also been implemented.
"I ask for your prayers for the perpetrator, the police, our parish staff and volunteers, and for the continued blessing and protection of the Most Holy Trinity over our community of faith," wrote "Father Mike," the Rev. Michael L. Lewis.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man arrested in satanic vandalism, burglary of Catholic church
