Long Island man charged with damaging statues worth $10k during church service
A Mineola man was arrested for allegedly causing thousands of dollars in damage at a local church.
By Eyewitness News
Click here for updates on this story
MINEOLA, New York (WABC) — A Mineola man was arrested for allegedly causing thousands of dollars in damage at a local church.
It happened at the Corpus Christi Church on Garfield Avenue on Sunday just after 5 p.m.
Aldo Hernandez, 26, is accused of entering the church during a service and becoming irate.
During the disturbance, he’s accused of approaching the altar and pushing over and breaking two religious statues.
It’s estimated that he caused $10,000 worth of damage.
The damaged statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary were worth $5,000 each.
Hernandez is facing a charge of criminal mischief in the second degree.
In court on Monday, prosecutors said he yelled “This is false religion, and not God.” before approaching the alter and knocking over and breaking the two statues.
“We don’t idolize the statues, they represent our faith,” said Lisa Simeone.
Prosecutors said Hernandez was captured on the church’s surveillance video and that multiple people asked him to leave.
“Some of the Spanish congregation not knowing whether he had a knife or a gun or a bomb subdued him,” Simeone said.
Upset parishioners witnessed the damaged statues amid their daily prayers inside Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church.
“I was like oh my God. That’s my church. That’s incredible. Why would anybody want to do that?” said Aldina Avila.
Police said a motive was not clear.
Hernandez has no previous criminal history.
He was released on personal recognizance, with no bail or electronic monitoring bracelet.
“I’m just saddened you know because we just restored the statue maybe a few years back because the statue is very old. It’s a 109 years old,” Avila said.
The judge ordered Hernandez to stay away from church, the pastor’s home, the pastor’s place of employment, and he must turn in any guns if he has one, and also suspended his license to carry, if it applies.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
