Church defaced: smeared feces, eggs, bananas. Investigators track down suspect

A California church was targeted with feces, eggs and bananas in a hate crime, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, a neighbor of Iglesia Christiana Fuente de Vida church in Dinuba, was arrested, according to information posted by the sheriff’s office to its Facebook page.

The sheriff’s office says video surveillance and a history of incidents helped deputies identify Danny Lee Terpin, 48, as the suspect. Deputies learned Terpin had a history of intimidating church members by yelling obscenities and making obscene gestures toward them.

The latest incident happened Friday. The church pastor told deputies someone had smeared feces on the church door, egged the building, left bananas in the mailbox and threw oranges on the fence.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 559-733-6218 or send anonymous information by sending a text or email to TCSO@tipnow.com or call 800-TIPNOW.

This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 7:12 PM.