Vandals unload fire extinguishers inside Cutler Bay church

Incident resulted in about $10,000 worth of damages, pastor says

CUTLER BAY, Fla. – A group of vandals have not only set a church in Cutler Bay back thousands of dollars, but the pastor told Local 10 News they are also unable to have services.

"The electrical, the music, the audio, everything is just caked in dust," Robert Augi, the pastor at Cutler Bay Worship Center, said.

A thin coat of dust covered soundboards, electrical equipment, pricey instruments and empty pues after vandals broke in twice this month and emptied two fire extinguishers inside.

"They also broke one of our TVs and some of our audio equipment that we use for our services, and then all of the equipment that we have," Augi said.

The pastor said the vandals made their way in through a window after ripping out the A/C unit.

He has since boarded up the window, but said the vandals caused close to $10,000 worth of damage inside.

"I have got two estimates and they’re anywhere from $6,000 to $7,000 just to clean it," Augi said.

Augi said he believes the vandals were kids because aside from a few dollars in a donation bowl, nothing more was taken.  

He said he now has to foot the bill for the damages and clean up the mess left behind.

"We don't have insurance right now. We are a small church," Augi said. 

Augi said the real set back is not being able to serve his community.

"We have older people in our congregation, we have kids in our congregation. They can't even come into the building right now," he said.

Augi's message to those responsible was: "Know that what you do has consequences and what you do affects other people."

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the church pay to clean up and repair the building.

Anyone with information about the vandals' identities is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.


About the Author:

Roy Ramos joined the Local 10 News team in 2018. Roy is a South Florida native who grew up in Florida City. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, Homestead Senior High School and graduated from St. Thomas University.