The State - News from Jan. 15, 1987

Teen-aged arsonists attempting to cover up the theft of collection boxes may have started a $1-million fire that gutted the 20-year-old Holy Rosary Roman Catholic church in Antioch, officials said. “It went up pretty quickly,” Father Carlos Davalos said. “There was smoke and flames coming out the windows. It’s not destroyed, but the inside is pretty badly damaged by water and smoke. The statues are charred.” Firefighters said three teen-age boys were seen running from the church just after the two-alarm fire broke out. Investigators found one of the collection boxes--which rarely contain more than $10--in the bushes the next day, Davalos said.