“I knew I could outlast him,” says the 46-year-old pastor, while police say the alleged intruder decide to fight when he “saw his wicked deeds had been discovered.”
A California pastor put his MMA training to use after allegedly discovering a burglar inside the church on Thanksgiving morning.
According to the Antioch Police Department, Pastor Nick Neves, 46, of First Family Church responded to the church to check an alarm early last Thursday. “He was not expecting to confront a burglar, but that’s what happened,” said authorities in a tongue-in-cheek press release.
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“When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent. What he did not know was the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody,” they continued.
They also shared a photo of the unnamed suspect, as well as the axe he allegedly used to break a window and gain access to the church.
Neves spoke about the incident with NBC News, saying he shouted at the burglar to stop and informed him police were en route — but the man “ran and I grabbed a hold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church.”
“I like to stay fit, and I studied some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background,” Neves told the outlet. “So it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentleman without having to do much harm to him.”
“I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up and tried to get away several times, but basically just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him,” he continued, saying the man gave up after about 12-15 minutes of wrestling.
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Neves also called the break-in “ironic,” as the church gave out groceries to those in need just days beforehand. “But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries,” said the pastor.
“We are thankful today that the pastor was uninjured during this incident,” police added in a statement, adding that they’re “hopeful that with amazing community members like we have been highlighting lately, we can turn the tide on crime in our city.”
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