Hendersonville Police have a man in custody in connection to vandalism at a local church that happened just days after Christmas.
On Wednesday, Dec. 29, around 11 a.m., authorities brought Kane Joshua Kelly, 40, of Hendersonville, into custody in relation to graffiti found at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Pastor Steven Blanton said security camera footage taken Monday, Dec. 27 shows a man spray-painting graffiti on the brick walls of the church around 1 a.m.
Law enforcement found a man resembling the person in that security footage wandering around the church Wednesday afternoon. They questioned him and took him into custody.
They also discovered more graffiti that had not been there before, which Blanton said he believes the suspect painted Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
Michael Lonon, a longtime member of Ebenezer Baptist Church, said he was disappointed to hear of the vandalism at his place of worship.
"I don't like it at all," Lonon said. "It's very, very upsetting."
Blanton said he has gone through a lot of emotions in the last few days. He said he hopes for some measure of accountability, but above all -- he forgives the person responsible.
"When I was first made aware of it, obviously there's anger and frustration. Why would somebody want to do that? But then I felt very quickly, the Lord just speak to my heart, and challenged me to extend forgiveness, which I did immediately," Blanton said. "I also asked the Lord to give me the opportunity to extend forgiveness."
Blanton told News 13 he was given that opportunity on Wednesday, as he watched law enforcement take Kelly into custody. He said he was able to speak to Kelly and tell him he forgives him.
Officials said Kelly has been charged with three counts of damage to property.
Henderson County Sheriff's Office assisted with the investigation and the arrest.
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOShttps://wlos.com/news/local/gallery/police-make-arrest-post-christmas-vandalism-graffiti-hendersonville-ebenezer-baptist-church-kane-joshua-kelly?photo=3
