Man indicted for desecration of Washington Twp. church

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

A 36-year-old Dayton man accused of sneaking into a Washington Twp. church during Mass and later damaging or breaking religious items was indicted.

A Montgomery County grand jury indicted Aaron Gregory Hendrix on desecration and criminal trespass. The criminal trespass charge is a misdemeanor.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched around 2:45 a.m. Dec. 5 to the Church of the Incarnation at 55 Williamsburg Lane, where they found an angel statue broken, an overturned table and a picture frame damaged. Printed materials also were scattered in front of the entrance to the church, according to an affidavit filed in court.

The Centerville Police Department also responded, and had the suspect later identified as Hendrix handcuffed in back of a cruiser. The deputy took custody of Hendrix but he refused to provide his name or other identification, the document stated.

Hendrix snuck into the church Dec. 4 through a back door during Mass. He then barricaded himself inside a storage room using the wooden handle of a squeegee, wooden signs and pallets. He remained hiding there for an undetermined amount of time, the document stated.

He told the deputy he left long johns lying on the stairs in the mechanical room. Under the stairs near the thermal underwear was a hatchet, an ax and other tools on the floor. The parish priest said the items should not have been there, according to the affidavit.

Hendrix is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

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