Church's holy water fountain needs to be reblessed after man, allegedly high on meth, undresses and climbs into it during Mass
Zachary Burdick, a 21-year-old aspiring rapper, producer, and songwriter, according to his Facebook, was taken into custody on Tuesday by police in Mandan, N.D., KFYR-TV reports.
A spokesperson of the Mandan Police Department, Lori Flaten, told the news outlet that Burdick was told to leave the Spirit of Life Church on that Tuesday morning because he was asking to bless people with the Book of Mormon. The Spirit of Life Church is a Catholic church that was hosting a Mass with around 75 people in attendance, according to the affidavit of probable cause, obtained by the Smoking Gun.
The affidavit reads that an employee of the church, Cheryl Hansen, saw Burdick remove his clothes and enter the baptismal fountain. Another witness, Darrell Kilzer, told the responding officer that Burdick was “splash[ing] around” in the holy water fountain, and entered the sanctuary with his “machinery” out.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the current practice mandates that a baptismal fountain should be large enough to fully immerse a baby or child — so you can imagine the scene.
Hansen then reported to the officer that Burdick allegedly started to masturbate while walking toward the altar. The church had an educational program occurring at the time for children ages 3 to 9, but they were not subjected to the scene.
After being taken into custody by Sergeant Nikolas Pynnonen, Burdick admitted to using “dabs,” which the sergeant reported is hashish oil, according to the affidavit. He also reportedly told the officer, “I am tweaking.” When asked what he was tweaking on, he replied “meth,” according to the report.
The affidavit goes on to read, “I asked Zachary about masturbating and told him he cannot do that in front of others. Zachary replied ‘especially in church.'”
According to the affidavit, the priest of the Spirit of Life Church, Todd Kreitinger, said the water will have to be drained from the fountain and, as per the rules of the Catholic Church, cleaned and sanitized. Fresh purified water will need to be pumped through a UV light cleaner before the fountain can be refilled. Todd estimated it would cost $500 for labor and materials.
Burdick was charged with felony indecent exposure, which is often a misdemeanor; however, this incident occurred within 50 feet of where the children were receiving private religious instructions. He was also charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
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