Man arrested on arson charge after two-alarm blaze inside church

Published: 2007-01-08

RICHMOND, Calif. (CNS) -- A man was arrested after setting an altar ablaze Jan. 5 at St. Cornelius Church in Richmond in the Oakland Diocese and telling a choir rehearsing there at the time that he would burn down the church. Police arrested Robert Mills, 40, of San Pablo. He was being held on suspicion of arson, said Richmond police Sgt. Shawn Pickett. Police said Mills has a history of violent criminal activity. After the fire was set, parishioners followed Mills to a park, where he jumped a fence into an apartment yard and was apprehended by police. The church, across the street from Richmond's City Hall, suffered minor fire damage and heavy smoke damage in what developed into a two-alarm blaze, a Richmond Fire Department spokesman said. Firefighters had the flames under control within 17 minutes of the second alarm.

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