Cops on the Search for Alleged NJ Church Vandal

The alleged vandal who smashed church statues in Cherry Hill and Mt. Laurel last week could also be responsible for a slew of other cases of vandalism at South Jersey Catholic churches, according to Evesham Police.

The latest reported incident happened overnight Thursday into Friday at St. Joan of Arc Church on Willow Bend Road in Marlton, police said.

An unknown person defaced a statue of the Virgin Mary and damaged a likeness of Joan of Arc, cops said.

A witness saw a man lurking around in the church parking lot around as choir practice let out around 9:30 Thursday night, authorities said.

The witness was able to give police a description. The suspect is described, as a 6-foot white male in his late 20s to early 30s with should length wavy brown hair. He was driving a tan or beige older model import sedan with square taillights, police said.

Evesham, Camden, Mt. Laurel and Cherry Hill police have teamed up with the FBI to try and track down the alleged vandal.

Cherry Hill police said that in the past week or so, they had recorded six cases of possible vandalism at area churches, according to the Courier Post

Early Friday morning the hands were broken off of a statue of the Virgin Mary at the St. Mary's Church on Springdale Road in Cherry Hill.

On Wednesday someone had struck the Holy Eucharist Church in Cherry Hill -- a statue of the Blessed Mother was discovered knocked over, though not damaged, according to Cherry Hill Police.

Destruction of church statues was also reported in Mount Laurel. St. John Neumann Church and the Queen of Heaven Church suffered thousands in property damage after statues there got smashed and even desecrated in some cases. 

Originally it was thought that maybe a few people were responsible for the crimes but now Evesham police say they are focusing on just the one suspect.

Anyone with information on the suspect should contact Evesham Police at 856-983-1116 or 856-983-4699. Tipsters can also e-mail police at Facebook@eveshampd.org.


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