EL CAJON - Police arrested three teen-age boys yesterday on suspicion of vandalizing and setting fire to a Mormon church Saturday.
A 15-year-old was arrested at his home in El Cajon, said Lt. Ed Forbes.
The other teens, 14 and 17, were arrested after a deputy pulled them over in Lemon Grove after seeing smoke coming out of the car they were in.
The deputy stopped the car after it made an erratic lane change and cut in front of the officer. The teens were told to sit on a curb, but they got up and ran away when the deputy walked back to his patrol car, authorities said.
The deputy ran after them, and two federal Treasury agents, who happened to be in the area, stopped the teens. The deputy turned the boys over to El Cajon authorities after being notified by a police bulletin from that city.
All three were booked in Juvenile Hall on suspicion of burglary and arson, Forbes said. The parents of the 15-year-old were members of the church.
The fire was set about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Granite Hills Drive. The sprinkler system was activated and an alarm alerted fire crews.
When firefighters arrived, the flames had been doused by the sprinklers, but the smoke and water damage to the inside of the church and fire damage to the pews were extensive, Forbes said.
Forbes said three teens were seen leaving the church area by a firefighter who responded to the alarm. One of them was carrying a skateboard and a video camera.
Police investigating the incident said they later learned from a parent that her 17-year-old son had been out that afternoon with a video camera and his skateboard.