Man accused of urinating on altar during break-in

EDWARDSVILLE — A Missouri man is accused in the New Year’s Day break-in at a southwestern Illinois church and the desecration of the altar.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that 23-year-old Benjamin Vollmer of the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson is charged with felony burglary.

Edwardsville police say that officers responding to an alarm at First Christian Church found that a window had been broken, and that someone had urinated in the altar area and set off a fire extinguisher in the sanctuary.

Police say they saw Vollmer walking away from the church, and they later arrested him at a friend’s home.

Vollmer is jailed on $60,000 bond.

Online court records do not show whether he has an attorney. A message left Wednesday at his home was not returned.