Nov 13, 2008 / 01:29 am
A man was arrested in Florida on Saturday on charges of simple battery, theft, and disruption of a religious assembly after he attempted to steal consecrated Hosts from a Catholic Mass, injuring the priest and a parishioner who attempted to stop him.
The 33-year-old John Samuel Ricci, from Canton, Connecticut, is being held on $2,000 bond in the Martin County Jail until his scheduled December 11 court appearance, The Register Citizen reports.
According to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Ricci was cornered by fellow churchgoers when he grabbed a handful of wafers from the priest during church services on Saturday.
Ricci was the last in the communion line at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church during its Saturday morning Mass.