Police in Antioch, California, arrested an axe-wielding burglar who allegedly broke into a church on Thanksgiving. (Antioch Police Department).
A California pastor received an unwelcomed guest for Thanksgiving in the form of an ax-wielding burglar.
The Antioch Police Department said in a Facebook post that the pastor of First Family Church went to check on an alarm early Thursday. As he arrived, he came across a burglary in progress.
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“When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent,” cops wrote. “What he did not know was the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody.”
Pastor Nick Neves told NBC News when he saw the burglar, he ordered him to stop and said the cops were coming.
“I grabbed a hold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church,” he said.
Neves, 46, has a mixed martial arts background with some training in jujitsu and kickboxing. That MMA experience helped as he was able to control the suspect without hurting him, the pastor said. After about 15 minutes of wrestling, the burglar ran out of gas and police arrived soon after.
“I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up and try to get away several times, but basically just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him,” Neves said.
Cops found an ax that the burglar, who has not been publicly identified, allegedly used to gain access to the building. Neves said the man did not need to steal.
“It’s just ironic,” he said. “If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for. But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”
