CHICAGO – A Robbins man is in custody for burglarizing a Mount Greenwood church on Friday.
According to church leaders, the suspect tried to steal precious relics and other items belonging to St. Christina Catholic Church.
A church volunteer alerted police to the burglary and officers quickly took the suspect into custody. Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be having a mental health crisis.
“It was really sad on multiple levels,” said Fr. Ryan Brady, who saw the suspect as police put him into the squad car in the 3300 block of West 111th Street at around 5:30 a.m. Friday. “This really is a sacred place and to have that violated, it broke some hearts.”
The suspect, identified by police as 57-year-old David Randich, faces one felony burglary charge and a misdemeanor criminal damage to property charge.
Amidst all the broken items and precious relics, damaged or still missing, Brady saw a desperate human being.
“He was desperate and that desperation came from mental illness,” he said. “Any my hope and my prayer is that as we recovered from this, we can pray for people who suffer from mental illness.”
Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th Ward), surveyed the damage and investigators said the suspect allegedly broke through the bathroom window Friday morning. For reasons that are not yet clear, the suspect badly damaged a Thanksgiving food pantry the parish had set up.
Despite this, O’Shea and others are proud of how the St. Christina community and Brady came together for a deeper understanding.
“Bringing his flock together, turning something so negative into something so positive,” O’Shea said.
“We’re gonna be able to use this opportunity to share with families and with community how we can address mental illness,” Brady added.
To replace damaged food pantry items, Brady is asking people to bring non-perishable food items to Sunday’s church services as a way to help others in need this holiday season.
