Buddhist Temple Vandal Suspected Of Stealing Another Temple's Statues

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A woman convicted of vandalizing a Buddhist temple last year is suspected in the theft of two statues from another temple in Santa Ana.

Two statues were stolen Feb. 26 from the Chua Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Temple, 1924 W. Second St., according to Santa Ana police. The two-foot statues were removed from a shrine adjacent to the sidewalk in front of the temple.

The same person returned to the temple on March 6 and stole a third statue, police said. Each statue is valued at about $1,000 each.

Police say when temple representatives reviewed the surveillance video, they recognized the female suspect as the same woman who was arrested in 2015 for vandalizing another temple.

The victim found a booking photo of Trang Thu Pham, 46, who was arrested on Jan. 13, 2015, and identified her as the suspect in this case, Santa Ana police said. Pham was ultimately convicted of vandalizing a place of worship and sentenced to 268 days in jail, and placed in five years of formal probation.

Authorities say Pham never reported to the probation department. She was taken into custody at about 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Anyone with information about the thefts can call Detective Alfredo Castro at (714) 245-8345 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIPS-OCCS.

In:
• Santa Ana