Man with hepatitis C vandalizes church, covering walls with blood

A naked man who hurled himself through the front window of a Rainier Valley church early Saturday, leaving behind shards of glass and smears of blood infected with hepatitis C, may have targeted the property because of something that happened there 29 years ago.

In the summer of 1980, the man's older brother hanged himself from a tree on the same property now owned by the Unity Church of God In Christ, according to the Rev. James Hicks. Back then, only two small houses and trees were on the site.

Hicks believes the man may have returned on Saturday because his brother had died on the site.

The man told police he broke into the church because he "was going home," according to an affidavit of probable cause filed Monday by the King County Prosecutor's Office. The 45-year-old Seattle man is being held for investigation of burglary.

While jumping through the window, the man cut himself extensively before destroying a trophy case in the main lobby, ripping photos from the walls and smearing his blood on doors, walls and windows, according to Hicks.

"The neighbor said he could hear him out here hollering 'I love you, I love you!' like he was arguing with somebody," said Hicks' daughter, Jacqualine Hicks-Lenard. "He said it sounded like two different voices."

Hicks was told the man suffers from hepatitis C. Because his blood was smeared throughout the building, the church was declared a biohazard. This further complicates the cleaning and repairing for Hicks and his daughters, Hicks-Lenard and Angelia Hicks-Maxie, both church leaders.

Over the weekend, deacons and other church members tried cleaning the mess, but police returned and told them they need to have a professional service clean the church to keep others from contracting hepatitis.

"We don't know how long it's going to take," Hicks said of the cleanup effort. "It's going to be more than a week."

There is still no estimate of when the church will be completely cleaned and repaired — or how much it will cost — but the church's insurance is covering the entire cost.

The carpet in the church will have to be torn out and replaced and the floor beneath the carpet will be sanitized. A demolished trophy case, the front window of the church, and a single church pew where the suspect left a bloody handprint will have to be replaced; the others will be steamed and sanitized.

Members of the church will likely hold Sunday services and other activities elsewhere for the second consecutive week.

The suspect had been released Friday from the King County Jail, where he was held on theft and other charges. He then cashed a disability check and bought crack cocaine, marijuana and alcohol before finding his way to the church, according to police.

The man later smashed the windshield and driver's side window on a pickup parked across the street from the church. The man was reportedly seen holding the truck's license plate above his head as he walked back toward the church, bleeding as he walked from one side of Renton Avenue South to the other, according to police.

The man was then taken to Harborview Medical Center for medical help before being taken back to the King County Jail.

He was ordered held Monday on $10,000 bail.

Phillip Lucas: 206-515-5632 or plucas@seattletimes.com