The July 2020 blaze scorched the art-covered walls and hallowed roof of the church at a historic Spanish mission in Southern California.
The charred rooftop of the 215-year old church at Mission San Gabriel in Southern California, damaged by a July 11 fire, is visible from the trellis lining the entrance to the mission’s courtyard. (Courthouse News photo / Martin Macias Jr.)
LOS ANGELES (CN) — The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged a 57-year-old man Tuesday with sparking a fire last summer that badly damaged the historic Mission San Gabriel church in Southern California.
Prosecutors say John David Corey broke into the 250-year-old Mission San Gabriel on July 11, 2020, and set off a fire in the church that began to swell after 4:20 a.m.