A Sedona man was arrested following vandalism of one of the area’s most iconic landmarks. At around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, Sedona police received a call that a man had vandalized the Church of the Holy Cross in front of several visitors to the church. He was arrested two hours later in Uptown.

Sedona Police Chief Charles Husted said 41-year-old Timothy Larson was booked into Coconino County Detention Facility in Flagstaff on charges of aggravated criminal damage, disorderly conduct, burglary and trespassing. 

The aggravated criminal damage charge is associated with the Chapel vandalism. SPD is forwarding that to the Coconino County Attorney’s Office as a hate crime. The CCAO makes the determination as to what charges are filed for prosecution.

“When the 911 calls at the Chapel came in from witnessing visitors I was alarmed that such an incident would occur at the Chapel of the Holy Cross,” he said. “I connected with my staff and wanted to ensure that we were doing everything we could to thoroughly gather information about what had occurred and quickly identify and locate the person responsible.”

Husted said Larson defaced the front of the Chapel by spray painting the word “Evil” on the ground outside. He went inside with a crowbar and began smashing displays and candles. Per witnesses, while damaging the church, Larson was uttering disparaging remarks towards the Catholic Church. Before leaving the Chapel on foot, Larson left an orange business-type card at the scene.

Larson’s specific motive is still under investigation, Husted said. In reviewing Larson’s Twitter account, he references the vandalism of the Chapel as his “mission.” 

“We were able to interview Larson subsequent to his arrest and he was cooperative when speaking to our staff,” he said.

Husted said it was “all hands on deck” when the Chapel call came out, Witnesses had quickly provided police with images of Larson at the scene of the crime, so they had a good description of who they were looking for. 

Husted used one of the images to craft and post an Urgent Alert on Nextdoor, notifying connected neighbors as to what occurred and solicit their assistance in calling 911 should the suspect be observed in the community. 

At 6:16 p.m. a clerk from a store in Uptown called 911 and indicated that Larson had come into her shop and left walking down the street. Officers converged on the location and quickly located and apprehended Larson in Uptown without incident. 

At the time of his arrest, Husted said Larson was in possession of a very large fixed blade knife and a sheathed katana sword. In speaking with the store clerk, she said her mother had texted her a screen shot of the “Urgent Alert” message that he had posted earlier in regards to Larson. 

Minutes after receiving the text notification from her mother, the clerk said Larson walked into her store and explained that he was “investigating human trafficking.”

Before leaving the store, Larson provided the clerk an orange business-type card that was identical to what he left at the Chapel. 

“This case demonstrates the power of positive social media use and the absolute critical importance of our police department being connected with the community via information-sharing platforms,” Husted said. “By having the ability to quickly share information about the Chapel incident and a picture of Larson with our community, we instantly activated thousands of eyes in our city that could assist us in locating Larson.”

Other than one of their officers arresting Larson in January for marijuana possession, Larson was not on SPD’s radar and they were not aware of his extreme ideations, he said.

As the investigation has evolved, SPD has made contact with several other Arizona law enforcement agencies regarding potential criminal activity regarding Larson. 

“There’s nothing in relation to churches that I am aware, but we believe he is tied to a recent residential burglary that occurred in Sedona a couple weeks ago and a theft from the Home Depot in Cottonwood,” Husted said. 

Investigators determined that Larson has a current address in Sedona and were working Thursday to draft search warrants for his place of residence, vehicle and social media accounts. 

“We believe that the follow-up investigation will lead to the identification of other crimes involving Larson and additional charges being filed,” he said.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122, or by email to reland@larsonnewspapers.com