Man hit with hate crime charge after vandalizing St. Patrick’s Cathedral, two other religious sites

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The man who threw a wrench at Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s residence behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral has been arrested, police said.

Juan Velez, 28, was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and criminal mischief for the Oct. 28 incident, as well as two other hate crimes targeting religious sites, cops said.

Velez is accused of walking up to the cardinal’s home on E. 50th St. near Fifth Ave. around 12:25 p.m and hurling a wrench toward the front door, according to police.

The next day, he tried to rip a flag down and damage the front doors of All Saints Episcopal Church on E. 60th St. near Second Ave. on the Upper East Side at around 11 a.m., cops said.

Later that night, he damaged another door at the Archdiocese of New York on First Ave. near E. 55th St. in Midtown East around 9:50 p.m., police said.

Velez’s last known address was a homeless shelter in Kips Bay.

His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Wednesday afternoon.