A man accused of breaking into Grace Community Church and causing approximately $10,000 in damage has been arrested following an investigation that relied on video evidence and detailed analysis by Tempe Police.

Mesa resident Erick Encinas, age 23,  was arrested Tuesday at his apartment by the Tempe Police Department’s Criminal Apprehension and Surveillance Team. He was booked into the Tempe City Jail on charges of burglary and aggravated criminal damage.

The investigation began around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 21, when a man forced his way into the student center at Grace Community Church, 1200 E. Southern Avenue in Tempe using a crowbar or tire iron. 

Security video captured the suspect and his vehicle at the church. Tempe Police’s Real-Time Operations Center  then located the vehicle on street-camera footage as it left the area. The vehicle was later seen losing a tire near the Tempe-Mesa border.

That information proved critical to Crime Analysis and Intelligence Center analysts, who researched the vehicle and identified a Mesa Police Department call approximately 30 minutes after the burglary involving a vehicle matching its description.

The vehicle became disabled, and the suspect told a passerby he had come from assaulting a pastor at a church. When contacted by Mesa police, the suspect was wearing clothing consistent with the church video and had fresh cuts on his arms.

Tempe detectives developed probable cause, and CAST located and arrested the suspect Sept. 1. Detectives also recovered the suspect vehicle and, during a search of his apartment, located clothing, a lanyard and other items believed to be associated with the burglary.