Unholy night: 'Whacked out' couple crashes midnight Mass
A couple of unholy, intoxicated church goers - high on booze and drugs - crashed a midnight Mass in Drexel Hill on Christmas when they stumbled down the aisle, fondled each other in a pew and flushed drugs down the church toilet, police said.
Unholy night: 'Whacked out' couple crashes midnight Mass
Stephanie Farr
A couple of unholy, intoxicated church goers - high on booze and drugs - crashed a midnight Mass in Drexel Hill on Christmas when they stumbled down the aisle, fondled each other in a pew and flushed drugs down the church toilet, police said.
Authorities believe Alexander Pirone, 21, and Catherine McGrath, 24, planned to hide out in the restroom until after the building was locked up for the night so they could burglarize the church, but a cop and an EMT who were also at the Mass thwarted their plan, said police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.
Pirone and McGrath burst into St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church on Burmont Road and stumbled down the aisle shortly after midnight Mass began on Dec. 25, police said. Officer Samuel Sproull, who was on duty at the time and attending the Mass, saw them come in and saw that they were "whacked out," Chitwood said.
"At one point in time, they were fondling one another in the pew to the point where a couple of the church goers had to tell them to stop acting like morons," Chitwood said. "They had to tell them that they were there to worship and pray and stop making a spectacle of themselves."
When the Mass was over, Sproull decided to wait for the couple outside of the church, but they never came out, Chitwood said. As the priest was about to lock up the church for the night, an EMT worker who also attended the Mass told Sproull that he'd seen the couple go downstairs and never come up, police said.
Sproull went downstairs and found Pirone sitting on the steps and McGrath locked in the bathroom, flushing the toilet, Chitwood said. When he was able to get the restroom door open, Sproull found four glassine bags in the toilet that are typically used to hold heroin, Chitwood said. A search of McGrath turned up a plastic vial with several bags of heroin in it as well as 43 pills, he said. Sproull also found numerous dangerous pills and narcotics on Pirone, Chitwood said. Both Pirone, of Clifton Heights, and McGrath, of Springfield, smelled of alcohol at the time too, according to police.
McGrath and Pirone, both of whom have a history of drug offenses, were arrested and charged with narcotics violations and public drunkenness, police said. They remain in prison in lieu of $30,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively, police said.
"They were looking for a problem," Chitwood said. "Well, both are still in jail so Merry Christmas to them."
Comment removed.- If you are trying to make some sort of church and state argument you have a long way to go pal. Police Officers are allowed to take breaks (within reason) anywhere they'd like. If your home is in your district you can stop by for dinner and the same holds true for church. As long as you answer your radio if needed then you are well within your rights as governed by your contract.
— sphillybrian - so you think he had his radio squaking during the mass? cops are supposed to make themselves seen at high crime areas to deter crime...spending 90 minutes at a church mass does not seem like a "break" also where is the proof that the couple were going to burglarize the building? if they were "whacked out" on drugs how did they formulate the plan? seems to me they were just wasted and didnt know what was going on but john law came up with some things to charge them with besides public intoxication and possession. face it the cop was worshiping his god on the public dime....if a muslim cop was doing the same thing all heck would break loose. — mc62strat
- so you think he had his radio squaking during the mass? cops are supposed to make themselves seen at high crime areas to deter crime...spending 90 minutes at a church mass does not seem like a "break" also where is the proof that the couple were going to burglarize the building? if they were "whacked out" on drugs how did they formulate the plan? seems to me they were just wasted and didnt know what was going on but john law came up with some things to charge them with besides public intoxication and possession. face it the cop was worshiping his god on the public dime....if a muslim cop was doing the same thing all heck would break loose. — mc62strat
- so you think he had his radio squaking during the mass? cops are supposed to make themselves seen at high crime areas to deter crime...spending 90 minutes at a church mass does not seem like a "break" also where is the proof that the couple were going to burglarize the building? if they were "whacked out" on drugs how did they formulate the plan? seems to me they were just wasted and didnt know what was going on but john law came up with some things to charge them with besides public intoxication and possession. face it the cop was worshiping his god on the public dime....if a muslim cop was doing the same thing all heck would break loose. — mc62strat
- What is your point? Perhaps posting it a few dozen more times will make it clearer... — poguemahone
- I like stories that end with young people in jail - where they belong.— dr.anonymous,md
- Comment removed.
- I wish they still had midnight mass at other churches.— HandNik
- Dude's picture isn't so bad for a mugshot, but her's is like a trainwreck. By the way who says they were going to rob the place. No evidence of that if anything they probably went downstairs to do the deed. I wonder if they even knew where they were.— Breaking Bad
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I'd say they should be punished by caring for elderly and shut ins, like many churches do, but I have a feeling they would just clean them out.
tough paper route...- Oooooh she's a looker! If this was "God's plan" I hope it also has something to do with rehabilitation, retribution and forgiveness. If not, like most other "Christians" I've dealt with and have seen in the media lately (ahem - Tucker Carlson), it'll be just another hate story...and ironic that it occurred in a church on Jesus' birthday. If anyone is preaching forgiveness it should be the ones who witnessed these two morons at their best. Rehab, baby!!!!— dr.elektrika
