Burglary suspect found hiding in church office

A burglary suspect is behind bars after he was arrested inside a church.

Hector Cruz Sanchez, 32, was allegedly found hiding inside the pastor’s office of a local church, Iglesia Bautista El Camino, located at North Imperial Avenue and Kincaid Street.

Calexico police said he was not there to pray.

Officer Sean Acuna said, “No, unfortunately, he went in there to try to get money or things of value that he could sell on the street to benefit his needs.”

Police responded to an alleged burglary in progress around 1 a.m. on Saturday.

“When officers arrived on scene, they contacted one of the church staff members who indicated he received a burglary alarm activation on his phone,” Acuna said.
The front door had been severely damaged and pried open. Officers went inside guns drawn and a careful search of the building was made.

Sanchez was found and cornered inside a back room – with nowhere to go.

“Inside the pastor’s office which is located in the south east portion of the building,” Acuna said.
Police found a large amount of money and sets of keys in his pockets.

“He was immediately taken into custody without incident and charged with burglary,” Acuna said.

The damage and theft were several hundred dollars. Police said it could’ve been worse.

“He’s homeless and that he was just trying to see if there’s anything he could take. Fortunately, the church is secured with an alarm system that allowed the staff member to receive an alert on his cell phone, which immediately contacted us and we were able to catch the person in the act,” Acuna said.

Church officials who said that it is sad and unfortunate that someone would want to take advantage of a place which only wants to help the community.

Hector Sanchez is charged with burglary. He’s in county jail on a $50,000 bond.