Screaming Man Assaults Worshippers

A crazed man rampaging in downtown Spokane Saturday evening was stopped by Spokane police with a choke hold after he stormed a church and attacked parishioners attending evening Mass.

Police received a call about 5:30 p.m. Saturday about a burglary in progress in the skywalk at the Bank of America and the vacant Lamonts building in the 600 block of West Riverside, Spokane police said.

Officers were told the man had smashed several glass doors in the skywalk and threw a metal bar through a window onto Riverside Avenue. He was described as wearing a black shirt and black jeans, but almost immediately police were told he had taken off his shirt and shoes and was running west on Sprague.

Officers searched the downtown area until they received another 911 call that a man without a shirt was assaulting people inside Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral, 1115 W. Riverside.

In the church, the man, shirtless and barefoot, had just entered and was screaming, “I am God,” while swearing profusely, said Monsignor James Ribble. Ribble stopped Mass to try to lead the man out, but the man resisted and began flailing his arms.

As other men attempted to confront the intruder, he fought them back and succeeded in hitting several, including an acolyte, whom he kicked in the face. No one was apparently injured.

“He apparently had some kickboxing training,” Ribble said.

About eight officers responded to the church and found the man standing by the altar, surrounded by 14 male members of the congregation who were trying to control him.

One officer tried to take the man into custody but was unable to control him. An officer finally used a choke hold to subdue the man while other officers handcuffed him.

Meanwhile, cantor Kish Annette led the congregation in a soothing rendition of “Amazing Grace” to calm church members and, it was hoped, the intruder.

The man was not to be placated, however, and continued to struggle and scream. Officers also restrained his legs before taking him to jail. Police spokesman Dick Cottam said Franck C. Delgado, 27, who gave an address of 1426 E. 13th, was booked on several counts of assault and burglary.

“Our boys in blue did a fantastic job,” Ribble said.

Bogus bills passed

The Secret Service is investigating two incidents of counterfeiting in Spokane, including one involving a Browne’s Addition supermarket.

A clerk at the Rosauers Supermarket at 1808 W. Third received a counterfeit $20 bill on Friday, but only noticed the bill on Sunday, Cottam said.

On Sunday, someone passed a counterfeit $50 bill at a market. A clerk at Jax Foods, 3019 E. Mission, didn’t notice the bill was fake until she was making up a bank deposit at the end of her shift, he said.

Police have turned the fake money over to the Secret Service, which handles counterfeit cases.