Fairfax City police have arrested a 51-year-old Annandale man accused of spray-painting satanic symbols on the doors of Truro Church.
Dwight Lawrence Chase, of 6752 Perry Penney Drive, was reportedly spotted by a parishioner scrawling graffiti on front doors of the large church on Jan. 13, according to a police department news release. Police found three outer doors and one inner door with markings that included “666,” which is widely recognized as symbolizing satanism.
The subsequent investigation by city police included analyzing letters Chase allegedly sent to local officials in which he claimed the right to take possession of church property, according to the department. He was arrested at his home on Friday, and faces a felony trespassing charge that carries with it a jail term of at least six months. Truro Church recently left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia over a long-standing ideological split.
Fairfax police did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
