LONG BEACH -- A mentally ill woman who took a nearly 800-year-old relic from one of the city's largest and oldest Catholic churches will not face criminal prosecution.
Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, said Friday the office decided not to prosecute Maria Solis in part because the archdiocese and the parish priest at St. Anthony's Catholic church did not want to pursue a case against her.
Also factored into the DA's office decision is the fact that the 41-year-old Long Beach woman has no prior criminal record and lives at a facility for the mentally ill under a conservatorship, according to prosecution records.
"It is unlikely we could prove ... she entered the church with the intent to steal," the document states.
The relic was taken during mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church on June 13. The theft sparked national media attention as police searched for the priceless item, a piece of bone from the church's patron saint that is encased in an ornate reliquary. The item was given to the parish by the archdiocese when St. Anthony's was founded more than 100 years ago.
It was recovered June 16, after investigators watched surveillance video from a nearby business, canvassed the neighborhood and tracked the relic to Solis' room at the mental facility, located less than a mile from the church, police said.
Solis was booked at the Long Beach Police Department's jail and released that same day due to her medical issues, police said.
The relic was returned to the church that same day as well.
Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, said Friday the office decided not to prosecute Maria Solis in part because the archdiocese and the parish priest at St. Anthony's Catholic church did not want to pursue a case against her.
Also factored into the DA's office decision is the fact that the 41-year-old Long Beach woman has no prior criminal record and lives at a facility for the mentally ill under a conservatorship, according to prosecution records.
"It is unlikely we could prove ... she entered the church with the intent to steal," the document states.
The relic was taken during mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church on June 13. The theft sparked national media attention as police searched for the priceless item, a piece of bone from the church's patron saint that is encased in an ornate reliquary. The item was given to the parish by the archdiocese when St. Anthony's was founded more than 100 years ago.
It was recovered June 16, after investigators watched surveillance video from a nearby business, canvassed the neighborhood and tracked the relic to Solis' room at the mental facility, located less than a mile from the church, police said.
Solis was booked at the Long Beach Police Department's jail and released that same day due to her medical issues, police said.
The relic was returned to the church that same day as well.
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