Man jailed after trying to rob church during sermon

Author: associated press
Published: Updated:
MGN

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) – A 21-year-old central Florida man faces multiple charges after authorities say he tried to rob a church during Sunday services.

Pastor Les Snodgrass of The Door Christian Fellowship Church tells Florida Today he was in the middle of his sermon on Sunday when a man stood up and pointed a gun at his 76-year-old mother. Snodgrass recalls John Grace yelled obscenities as he ordered the pastor’s wife to “tie up the children.”

Melbourne police say Snodgrass pleaded with Grace before he and his son subdued him.

Police spokesman Dan Lynch says Grace had been sitting in the congregation of the small, storefront church before pulling out an airsoft BB gun modeled after a Sig Sauer pistol.

Grace remains in jail and records don’t indicate whether he’s hired an attorney.

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