Man charged with ransacking Royal Oak church, damaging religious statue

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) - A South Korean man faces charges after officers allegedly found him ransacking a Detroit-area church last week.

Authorities said officers were called to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Royal Oak last Tuesday night to investigate a report that a suspicious person was inside the church building.

When officers arrived, they discovered a 30-year-old South Korean man throwing things around inside the church before he began dragging a damaged religious statue out of the church, local media reported.

Police said the man is also accused of damaging an outdoor flood light, breaking four windows on the front doors of the church and throwing garbage and potted plants outside the church.

He has been been arraigned on one count each of breaking and entering, and malicious destruction of property over $1,000.