A man has admitted to setting fire to an LDS church in Kearns after stealing checks from the clerk's office of the meetinghouse.
Angel Diaz-Juarez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Wednesday to arson in relation to the August 2003 blaze, which caused an estimated $1 million in damage. The 36-year-old undocumented immigrant also pleaded guilty to possession of a forged green card at the time of his arrest.
Diaz-Juarez admitted to entering the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 5133 S. Heath Ave. at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2003. After kicking in the door to the clerk's office and taking several blank checks, Diaz-Juarez started the fire using his cigarette lighter and left the building, according to court documents.
Diaz-Juarez was arrested on Aug. 5 after two checks from the church showed up around Salt Lake County. He was charged with state forgery charges and released but was re-arrested later that month. Federal grand jurors indicted Diaz-Juarez with the current charges in November.
According to court documents, Diaz-Juarez forged four checks belonging to the church for a total of $2,300. Two of the checks were made out to acquaintances, one to Diaz-Juarez himself and the other to Utah Title Loans Inc. to pay off a loan. On at least two occasions, Diaz-Juarez received cash back, documents state.
As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, Diaz-Juarez will be held liable for restitution for fire and the cashed checks.
Prosecutors will move to dismiss two counts of bank fraud when Diaz-Juarez is sentenced on May 12. He faces a five-year minimum mandatory sentence on the arson charge and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for the counterfeit immigration document.
Diaz-Juarez also faces deportation following the completion of his sentence.
Law enforcement officials had previously said Diaz-Juarez was not believed to be a member of the church congregation, but on Wednesday the defendant said he did belong to the Western Hills 1st Ward.
E-mail: awelling@desnews.com