HOUSTON — A man was arrested after police said he assaulted a priest at a River Oaks church last weekend.
On Sunday, things got a little scary when 50-year-old Rafael Perez went after a priest. It happened at St. Anne's Catholic Church, a popular chapel on Westheimer.
It was an odd call for Houston police to get. They said Perez entered the church around 1 p.m. and walked up to a priest and pushed him.
A St. Thomas police officer was working there and was able to detain Perez until officers with the Houston Police Department got there.
Photos made their rounds showing Perez sitting in a courtyard at the church. He was booked into the Harris County Jail with two charges -- assault causing bodily injury and terroristic threat.
After digging into Perez's background, it turns out that he has an extensive rap sheet that includes charges related to allegedly terrorizing his neighbors at their Midtown townhomes. According to court documents, he was arrested in February after he told his neighbor he was going to kill her, smeared feces on their doors and threw a tin cup with a liquid, believed to be urine, at them. The neighbors said they filed several complaints and Perez has terrorized them for months. The case is ongoing.
Neighbors didn't want to talk on camera but said it has been going on for months.
As for the charge stemming from the attack at the church, as of Monday, Perez was still at the Harris County Jail. His bond was set at $5,000.
KHOU 11 News reached out to his attorneys but didn't hear back.