By admin 
TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — A 23-year-old man is in custody after surveillance footage tied him to a break-in at an East Valley church last month that caused thousands in damage.
Read more Foot chase ends with man arrested for possession of firearm, drugs
Erick Encinas was arrested Tuesday at his Mesa apartment and booked on charges of burglary and aggravated criminal damage, according to the Tempe Police Department.
How the break-in happened
Authorities say the burglary happened just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 21, when a man used a crowbar or tire iron to force his way into the student center at Grace Community Church near Rural Road and Southern Avenue.
Surveillance video appears to show the suspect, with a shirt wrapped around his head, breaking a glass door and reaching through to unlock it. The footage later shows him destroying a computer and damaging instruments inside the building.
Police say he also damaged televisions, screens, sound equipment, walls, doors and a waterline that flooded the kitchen. The destruction was estimated at $10,000 in damage.
Officers say electronics were also stolen, including a PS5 belonging to the church’s youth group. The stolen electronics were valued at about $2,000.
How they identified him
Security cameras captured both the suspect and his Toyota Matrix at the church, police said. Investigators then used nearby traffic cameras to track the car as it left the scene, and that footage shows the car losing a tire near the Tempe-Mesa border.
About 30 minutes after the break-in was reported, the car reportedly turned up in Mesa.
Read more 1 hurt in shooting in Peoria; shooter killed
Investigators say the driver told a bystander he had just assaulted a pastor at a church because the pastor had made his cousin “uncomfortable,” according to court documents.
When Mesa police arrived, they found a man wearing clothing matching the surveillance footage with fresh cuts on his hands and arms, but then found no probable cause to arrest him.
After piecing together the video evidence, Tempe police identified Encinas as the suspect and arrested him Tuesday at his apartment.
During a search, officers found his vehicle along with clothing, a lanyard and other items believed to be connected to the break-in. Encinas declined to speak with investigators about the alleged crime.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more 14-year-old beaten with golf club during fight near bus stop; 2 teens, mother arrested