Sparkly purple tutu-wearing man arrested after allegedly stealing from church

A 39-year-old man clad in a T-shirt and a sparkly purple tutu was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of stealing musical instruments and electronic equipment from a church in Allied Gardens, San Diego police said. A neighbourhood resident reported seeing the suspect place a guitar amplifier in a truck about 4:10 a.m. outside the Palisades Presbyterian Church.

Officers arrived, set up a perimeter and found the suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Joshua Baker allegedly carrying a trash can with property inside, police said. The man, who is roughly 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds, dropped the property and ran northbound, between two buildings, police said.



An officer gave chase and the suspect jumped a chain-link fence and headed west into the church parking lot, where another officer was waiting. During the chase, the suspect's clothing came off and he was taken into custody in the nude, police said. "Without the help of the great citizen we would not have found this person because there was no burglar alarm," said San Diego Police Sgt. Dean Thomas.

Officers then too the man who had reported the break-in to the area, and he identified the suspect as the alleged thief. Baker was arrested on suspicion of burglary and delaying a peace office. He is being held on $25,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.

With news video.