A 28-year-old man is facing three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one felony count of vandalism after he allegedly attacked three contractors with a 5-foot metal pipe outside a shuttered Berkeley church last Saturday morning. Police say Donald Malone had been sleeping inside Trinity United Methodist Church near Bancroft Way and Dana Street when contractors doing property work discovered someone had broken in and asked him to leave.
According to KTVU, the confrontation unfolded around 10:45 AM last Saturday, when Malone refused to leave the property and instead attacked the contractors with the pipe. One victim called a dispatcher to report that Malone was approaching them, and the workers ultimately flagged down a UC Berkeley police officer for help, KTVU reports. Malone was arrested after a struggle, according to the outlet’s reporting.
Berkeley police officer Byron White said the suspect attacked the contractors after refusing to leave, per the same account. Malone reportedly yelled “Get away from me!” at the workers, and at another point shouted, “Hey! You’re acting like you’re innocent!” and “You already kicked me out! I was asleep!” Police said Malone held the pipe as he yelled at the three contractors working on the church property.
Extensive Damage Inside the Closed Sanctuary
Police estimate Malone caused about $20,000 in damage to the church, including broken electric equipment, knocked-over speakers, and a smashed drum set, the station’s report notes. Contractors called police once they realized the extent of the break-in and damage before the confrontation escalated…