Piano-Playing Church Arsonist Busted
Santa Barbara County – In the early morning hours of November 15th, a fire alarm call brought Santa Maria Police Department patrol officers to the smoke-filled St. John Neumann Catholic Church in the city’s downtown area.
Amanda Ruiz
According to Santa Maria PD spokesman Sgt. Jack Dunn, upon seeing the smoke, officers promptly summoned Santa Maria Fire Department units, and upon their arrival “they knocked the fire down quickly.” Subsequent investigation at the scene revealed a shattered glass door “which was the apparent point of entry”, Dunn reported to the media. Evidence of extensive vandalism, including the destruction of religious statuary which had been knocked to the ground. The statue of St. John Neumann had been “desecrated and shattered,” as detailed in Dunn’s report.
St. John Neumann Catholic Church
The fire, once extinguished, was determined to have been intentionally set in the rear area of the church with collection baskets and liturgical books used as a primary source of incendiary fuel.
Continuing their investigation and noting extensive damage within the church itself, officers followed the sounds of music oddly emanating from the rectory, where they found 24-year-old Amanda Ruiz playing a piano, and apparently under the influence of a controlled substance. “Whatever she was on gave her a lot of strength,” Dunn indicated, adding that “it took several officers to subdue her.” Ruiz was ultimately taken into custody at the scene where officers discovered a cache of narcotics paraphernalia nearby in the church. Ruiz was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of burglary, arson, and felony vandalism.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, St. John Neumann Church
Read more:
KCOY: Santa Maria Church Target of Burglary, Arson and Vandalism
Noozhawk: Woman Arrested in Burglary, Arson at Santa Maria Church
