Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 41-year-old woman was arrested in the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after Suffolk County police said she damaged a statue of Jesus Christ at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Islip — an act that prompted an investigation by the department’s Hate Crimes Unit, according to Patch.
The damage to the statue occurred at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Friday, May 15, at St. Mary’s Church, located at 118 East Main Street in East Islip. Police did not specify in their initial report how the statue was physically damaged, but the involvement of the Hate Crimes Unit indicated investigators believed the act may have been motivated by bias or hatred directed at the Roman Catholic faith or the church community, Patch reported. The investigation unfolded over the following five days before detectives identified a suspect.
Following that investigation, Hate Crimes Unit detectives located and arrested Deyonna Subert outside 221 W. Main Street in Bay Shore at approximately 6:39 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 — roughly five days after the statue was allegedly damaged. Subert, 41, was described by police as undomiciled at the time of her arrest. She was charged with second-degree criminal mischief in connection with the incident, according to Patch.
After her arrest, Subert was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct. She was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, May 21, 2026, at First District Court in Central Islip. The swift resolution of the case — from a late-night act of property destruction to an arrest and arraignment within the same week — drew public comment from county leadership.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine issued a statement following the arrest, saying: “The Suffolk County Police Department made an arrest this morning in relation to the damaging of a statue of Jesus Christ at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Islip. All houses of worship are sacred places for our community to congregate and worship peacefully. I thank the SCPD for their diligence as the Department will remain vigilant for all religious institutions throughout the County.” The statement underscored the county’s commitment to protecting religious institutions from acts of vandalism or bias-motivated crime.
The case drew attention not only because of the religious nature of the target — a statue of Jesus Christ at a Roman Catholic church — but also because the Suffolk County Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit, rather than a standard precinct detective squad, was assigned to lead the investigation. The involvement of that specialized unit signals that investigators examined potential hate crime dimensions to the alleged act, though the formal charge filed at the time of arrest was second-degree criminal mischief rather than a hate crime enhancement, per Patch.
Location & Road Context
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church is located at 118 East Main Street in East Islip, a hamlet in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County. East Main Street is a central commercial and residential corridor in the community, running through the heart of the hamlet. The church is a well-established fixture of the East Islip community. The arrest was made several miles away in Bay Shore, another hamlet within the Town of Islip, at 221 W. Main Street — reflecting that the suspect was located in a neighboring community along the South Shore of Long Island.
East Islip has previously been in the news in connection with serious incidents along its local roads; notably, the hamlet was the scene of a fatal garbage truck crash in November 2025. The area surrounding East Main Street is a mixed-use corridor with residential neighborhoods, businesses, and houses of worship in close proximity.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The investigation was handled by detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit, a specialized division tasked with probing incidents that may be motivated by bias against religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics. The unit’s involvement suggests investigators examined whether the damage to the Jesus statue constituted a bias-motivated crime under New York State law, though Subert was ultimately charged with second-degree criminal mischief at the time of her arrest, according to Patch.
Under New York Penal Law, second-degree criminal mischief is a class A misdemeanor when the damage is valued at less than $250, or a class D felony if the damage exceeds $250 — meaning the precise charge level Subert faces would depend on the assessed value of the damage to the statue. Subert was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct following her arrest and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, May 21, 2026, at First District Court in Central Islip, which handles criminal arraignments and misdemeanor proceedings for the First District of Suffolk County.
Broader Impact
The assignment of the Hate Crimes Unit to investigate damage to a religious statue highlights the heightened scrutiny New York law enforcement applies to incidents targeting houses of worship. New York’s hate crime statute — Penal Law § 485.05 — allows for elevated charges when a criminal act is committed because of a victim’s religion, meaning prosecutors could potentially pursue an upgraded charge if evidence of religious bias is established during proceedings. Community members and church leadership at St. Mary’s, as well as county officials, will likely be watching the arraignment closely to see whether the charge is enhanced or remains at the criminal mischief level as the case proceeds through First District Court in Central Islip.