Vandalism

Vandalism at the Armenian Church in Glendale.
Do we have enoug h churches? Apparently not. We have only 1000, one short of Ani of 1001 churches fame.
Seems like this is the source of the story from LA Times..
http://www.glendalen...0,4056103.story

Glendale News Press
Armenian church vandalized
Glendale man allegedly smashed a monument at St. Mary's with a sledgehammer.
By Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com
August 12, 2010
SOUTH GLENDALE — A 23-year-old Glendale man who allegedly used a sledgehammer to smash a sacred monument outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church could face felony vandalism charges, police said.
Victor Petrescu was arrested about 10 a.m. Tuesday after he was seen using a sledgehammer to break off pieces from the church's monument on the 500 block of South Central Avenue, causing roughly $80,000 in damage, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
Petrescu told police he was Jewish, and that "it said in the Bible he must destroy sacred pillars," Lorenz said.
The act was not a hate crime because Lorenz said detectives have questioned his mental stability.
Petrescu on Wednesday allegedly changed his initial story, telling police that he was Christian, Lorenz said.
Church staff and congregants saw Petrescu and tried stopping him, but he didn't answer as he raised the sledgehammer and cracked the monument, the Rev. Ardak Demirjian said.
When they called out to him, Petrescu reportedly turned and showed them his sledgehammer, so they backed away, Demirjian added.
The monument was donated to the church more than 10 years ago and commemorates the day 1,700 years ago that Armenians adopted Christianity, he said.
Church officials are still trying to determine how they will repair the monument since its one piece of stone with intricate carvings, Demirjian said.
"Any vandalism caused to something is sad for all the people, all nations and all religions," he said. "If he is not normal, we pray for him."
Petrescu listed the Bible and "Jerusalem in Prophecy" as his books of interest on his MySpace page.
Detectives were slated to present evidence of alleged vandalism today to prosecutors, who will decide whether to file charges.
"It would be very nice to get this guy off the streets and put him away," Lorenz said.
If Petrescu is charged, he will likely be arraigned by Friday.

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Why are Armenian sources highlighting the assumption that he is yewish?
How is one NUT different from another, regardless of their religion?
We rememeber this;

Laszlo Toth
Tóth László.
This article uses the Western name
Pietà by MichelangeloLaszlo Toth (László Tóth in Hungarian) (born 1940), is an Hungarian-born Australian geologist. He achieved worldwide notoriety when he vandalised Michelangelo's Pietà statue on May 21, 1972. Toth was not charged with any criminal offence after the incident. He was hospitalised in Italy for two years. On his release, he was immediately deported to Australia, where he apparently still resides.

Observe above that he changed his story of being yewish to being Christian. A nut is a nut is a nut. How does a madman own a sledgehammer? Did he buy it at Armen’s hardware store?
None of the Armenian sources allude to the fact that he changed his “story” from yewish to Christian.
News AM http://news.am/eng/news/27643.html
Jew smashed khachkar in Glendale

The arrested Petrescu told police the Bible says “he must destroy sacred pillars”, Glendale police sergeant Tom Lorenz Lorenz said. On August 11, Petrescu claimed he is Christian. The act of vandalism was not considered a hate crime, as the police questioned Petrescu’s mental stability, the source says.

Panorama http://www.panorama....12/usa-glendel/
Armenian church vandalized: Jewish man smashes sacred monument

Petrescu told police he was Jewish, and that "it said in the Bible he must destroy sacred pillars."

Getting back to the “madman at the church”. Why did not anyone kill him? Why did not anyone show him wht to do the handle of that sledgehammer?
Reminds one an old storry- “There is a madman at the bath.”
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The Armenian village of Baghnis was terrorized, the entire village had not had a bath in weeks. A madman at the entrance of the bathhouse had been terrorizing the entire population. Until Haikanoush heard about it, and she said “huh!!, a madman!! “? She picked up a (baseball) bat and promised to come back. She came back and said “there is no madman at the bathhouse!!!”




Edited by Arpa, 12 August 2010 - 11:40 AM.

hmmmmm..

verjum teseq

This quote made my day: "If he is not normal, we pray for him."... Really? What kind of "normal" person smashes statues with a hammer?

Also, isn't it the Christian thing to pray for him regardless?

GLENDALE— A 23-year-old Glendale man who allegedly used a sledgehammer to smash a religious monument outside St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony vandalism, officials said.

Victor Petrescu appeared in a Los Angeles County Superior Court in Glendale to answer to a list of charges that included felony vandalism of religious property — with an enhancement charge for damages exceeding more than $50,000 — a misdemeanor count of possessing a sledgehammer with the intent to commit vandalism and graffiti, and having a suspended and revoked driver's license, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Petrescu remained in custody in lieu of $160,000 bail.

Glendale police had presented the case as a possible hate crime, but a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said prosecutors settled with the felony vandalism charges.

"After reviewing the evidence, we felt that these were the appropriate charges," spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said.

If additional evidence is presented in the future, prosecutors may reevaluate the charges, she added.

Glendale Police Chief Ron De Pompa said that if investigators uncovered additional evidence of a hate-motivated crime,

"we will absolutely be requesting the district attorney to file those charges and amend appropriately."

Petrescu was arrested Wednesday after two Glendale police detectives spotted him allegedly hammering into the church's monument on the 500 block of South Central Avenue, Lorenz said.

The detectives pulled into the church's parking lot and identified themselves to Petrescu, who made his way to a fence while carrying the sledgehammer, Lorenz said.

Petrescu, who police said is a local transient, was apprehended after a brief chase.

Church officials estimated the damage to the monument at $80,000.

In two years of run-ins with police, Petrescu has exhibited "bizarre behavior," but no incidents were related to crimes against a church or ethnicity, Lorenz said. Petrescu also has a history of drug use, he added.

Representatives for the church deferred to authorities in evaluating the case.

"We commend the work of the Glendale police and, fortunately enough, they were there and were able to stop this assault in a very quick way, but we don't want to be in the position of condemning anyone," said Levon Kirakosian, a spokesman for the La Crescenta-based Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America. "We understand that there is a lot of fact that need to be discovered."

If in the course of the investigation evidence emerges of a possible hate crime, Garo Ghazarian, vice chairman of the Armenian Bar Assn., said he would urge county prosecutors to amend the charges accordingly.

"We don't want to say this is a crime directed toward an Armenian church because it happens to be an Armenian church," he said. "But at the same token, we don't want any early determinations of precluding any culpability by virtue of the potential mental health issue this male may or may not have suffered."

The cross monument, which was donated to the church in 2001, sustained heavy damage to its carvings, officials said.

The sacred monument, created from rare volcanic rock and shipped from Armenia, commemorates the day 1,700 years ago that Armenians adopted Christianity, church officials said.

The monument also represents the Armenian Genocide, Kirakosian said.

"It was an assault on something that symbolically is a representation of the Armenian people and its history, and for that reason we're are shocked and we can only believe this man must have been disturbed," he said.

Glendalenewspress.com

Vandalism at Armenian church brings hate crime charge

August 21, 2010 | 8:13 am

A man who vandalized a stone monument at St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church has been charged with a hate crime by the Los Angeles county district attorney's office.

The vandalism charges filed against 23-year-old Glendale resident Victor Petrescu were amended Thursday to reflect the change roughly one week after he was arrested in front of the church. Witnesses said he used a sledgehammer to smash a stone monument.

After the district attorney's office filed felony vandalism charges, Glendale Police Chief Ron De Pompa asked prosecutors to reconsider the evidence for the hate crime enhancement.

"It was simply based on additional analysis," district attorney spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales said of the decision to amend the charge.

Petrescu, who police said is Christian and of Romanian descent, also has been charged with felony vandalism of religious property and a misdemeanor count of possessing tools with the intent to commit vandalism, according to a criminal complaint.

The move follows growing concern among the Armenian community and church leaders about the case.

That Petrescu allegedly purchased the sledgehammer before smashing the cross stone proved the incident was premeditated, making it grounds for a hate crime, De Pompa said