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Santiago Brito-Avalos, 44, faces assault and vandalism charges in the incident, police said.
According to witnesses, Brito-Avalos had arrived at the church just as an attendant was opening it Sunday and asked to retrieve a wallet and cellphone that he had left there.
The 74-year-old employee handed him the articles and then, police said, was grabbed by the neck, knocked to the ground and kicked by Brito-Avalos.
Police said the suspect then went into the church, took a religious statue and threw it through a 75-year-old stained-glass window said to be worth several thousand dollars.
He also damaged a microphone on the altar, a hymnal, candles and a painting, police said.
While this was going on, police were called and arrived at the scene just in time, they said, to see Brito-Avalos slap a 76-year-old Sloatsburg man in the face.
The man had been standing outside the church warning people not to go inside, police said.
Police said that Brito-Avalos moved toward them in an aggressive manner and dared them to “shoot” him.
An officer deployed a Taser, and Brito-Avalos dropped to the ground, where he was arrested by Sgt. Jose Martinez and police Officer Billy Simurra, police said.
"It was crazy. It was nuts. We didn't know what he was going to do next," said Police Chief Clarke Osborn Monday.
Brito-Avalos has been charged with criminal mischief, a felony, second-degree assault, and third-degree harassment.
The church employee was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released.
Brito-Avalos was sent to the Rockland County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
The man who Brito-Avalos is accused of slapping was not injured, Osborn said.
Brito-Avalos is to appear Tuesday in Suffern Justice Court.
Due to some questions about Brito-Avalos’s residency status, police said they plan to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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