Police: Two Lindenhurst Men Arrested for Vandalizing a Church

Two Lindenhurst men were arrested by Suffolk Police on Saturday for allegedly vandalizing a church in North Amityville.

Suffolk Police said Steven Yurcak, 19, and Jake Matthews, 18, spray-painted the exterior of a building that houses the Farmingdale First Baptist Church at 51 East Street on Saturday afternoon.

The arrests were made, according to police, following an investigation prompted by a caller who reported two men spray-painting an exterior wall at the church's location at approximately 12:50 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

First Precinct Officers James Knoblach and Eric Dennis responded to the call, said police, and the men, who tagged the words “SOP” and "Shake” on the side of the building, fled on foot.

Yurcak and Matthews were later picked up by Suffolk Police and charged with criminal mischief in the second degree. After a follow-up investigation by the Graffiti Task Force, they were charged with one count of criminal mischief in the third degree and three counts of making graffiti, police said.

The men, who claim they didn't know the building housed a church, according to police, will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.