Police Announce Recovery of St. Anthony's Relic and Arrest

As they announced the arrest of a suspect in the case and the recovery of a religious relic, the Long Beach Police Department released two videos in connection with the case Thursday night.

The videos show the suspect in the relic theft as seen from security cameras this week in the vicinity of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, where the relic was stolen.  LBPD describes the black and white video as having been taken on June 12, and the color video as being from June 13. In both, the department says, the suspect is shown walking toward the church. 

The relic believed to be 700 to 800 years old was stolen from St. Anthony's in downtown Long Beach on the morning of June 13 and police said Monday that they were looking for a woman who behaved suspiciously near it on Sunday.

Staff arriving at 6 a.m. Monday saw the relic  in its display area, Long Beach police said. At 9 a.m., the workers noticed that it was missing, and reported it to LBPD.

The item is brought out only once a year in honor of the church's namesake,  police said. 

The relic in a Gothic style glass and gold display case was given to the church when it was first established 110 years ago. 

According to LBReport.com, police arrested a 41-year-old Long Beach woman who matched the description of a person of interest in the case. City News Service identified the arrested suspect as Maria Solis, 41, of Long Beach. She was arrested in the 1200 block of East 10th Street and booked on suspicion of commercial burglary, the Press-Telegram reported.In announcing the arrest, LBPD Deputy Police Chief Robert Luna stood alongside Rev. Jose Magañand Luna and described detectives as taking the woman into custody in the 1200 block of east 10th Street, where the relic was found in here house. She was being held on a charge of commercial burglary.