Arrest made in church vandalism

An arrest has been made in the vandalism of a Bradley County church reported on Friday.

Dale Dockery, 52, was identified as the vandalism suspect in an investigation into someone writing “6-6-6” on an unidentified church in the Charleston, Tennessee, area of Bradley County, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Lewis.

In the Charleston incident Friday afternoon, a security camera videotaped the man who wrote the numbers on the church doors. The church asked not to be identified.

On Wednesday, someone also wrote the numbers at GraceWorks Church on Lee Highway.

The numbers are associated with Satan in the Christian faith and identified as the “The Number of the Beast” in the Bible’s Book of Revelation.

Investigators have not officially said whether the two incidents are related. The alleged GraceWorks vandal was videotaped, but the images are not as clear as the Bradley County incident.

“I am grateful for the public’s willingness to come forward with valuable information assisting in our investigation. Our patrol and Criminal Investigation divisions acted quickly, and worked tirelessly over the last two days to identify this individual,” Sheriff Steve Lawson said in the statement.

After consulting with the District Attorney’s office a misdemeanor charge of vandalism and a felony charge of civil rights intimidation has been filed, officials said.

Dockery was arrested in Chattanooga Sunday morning and is being held there for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, according to Lewis.