Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
POCATELLO — Two suspects were arrested late last week in connection with vandalism that occurred at a local church earlier in October, police say.
Jakob Andrew McCormick, 21, was identified in court documents and charged with felony malicious injury to property. He caused over $1,000 worth of damage, police say. Pocatello Police confirmed with EastIdahoNews that the other suspect that was arrested was a male juvenile. His name is not being released since he is underage.
The Pocatello Police Department responded to reports of vandalism on Oct. 14. Officers found a smashed glass door and broken windows at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 135 S. 7th Avenue.
A computer monitor appeared to have been punched. A rock had been thrown through a window, and a dozen roses were missing from the building, documents said.
Officers found drops of blood near the broken glass, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Pocatello Police Department. No one was found in the building. Blood was found throughout the building, police say. Officers started to canvas a neighborhood after a blood trail was found that started on the northeast corner of 7th and East Lewis Street.
A Twisted Tea alcohol can was located in the 1000 block of East Lewis Street, police say. Officers noted this is in court documents because they had found a backpack that was left near the scene that had Twisted Teas inside, according to police. The blood trail ended at an area near Lewis Street where there were two more Twisted Tea cans, police say.
An officer contacted a witness who said she overheard a conversation between two males that came out near East Lewis Street, police say. She described one of them as having curly dirty blond hair, police say. She heard them talking about "robbing" a bunch of places, and one of them asked the other if he had a backpack so they could go to Albertsons grocery store and steal a bunch of items, police say.
An officer found there were several reports that may have been related to the suspects in this case who had been consuming Twisted Tea drinks, police say. The related reports included young males that committed beer thefts of Twisted Tea from various stores, according to court documents. McCormick's name had been mentioned in the beer theft reports.
An officer contacted a pastor from the nearby Mountain Valley Church, who told the officer that the church had video of two males who attempted to get into the Baptist church and threw one of their pumpkins. The video shows two males leaving the church and walking westbound towards the church building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 7th and Lewis Street, police say.
After investigating, officers traced the vandalism to McCormick and interviewed him, police say. McCormick admitted to drinking heavily and stated that he only remembered some parts of that night, according to police documents. He confessed to breaking two of the windows at the church building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 14, according to the affidavit.
The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine. McCormick is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. at the Bannock County Courthouse.
Police said there is no evidence at this time that would lead investigators to believe the incident was a hate crime.
