Kickboxing Pastor Defends Church, Takes Down Suspected Burglar Armed with Axe: 'I Like to Stay Fit'

A California pastor trained in martial arts fought off a burglar who broke into his church on Thanksgiving day.

Antioch Pastor Nick Neves went to his church, First Family Church, early on Thursday morning after he received a notification that an alarm within the building had gone off.

Upon arriving, he noticed "a smashed window and a door propped open."

"As I was going into the door, the perpetrator came out with a handful of our goods, and I stopped him, and I told him he was essentially under citizen's arrest, that the police would be there, and he needs to stop and wait for them," Neves, who has worked with the church for almost 20 years, told CNN.

"And he wasn't having that," the pastor continued. "So he tried to run, and I restrained him, and he began to fight with me. And so we tussled for quite a while before the cops were able to get there."

The men struggled for 12 to 15 minutes before law enforcement arrived and apprehended the burglar.

"I like to stay fit, and I studied in some jujutsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background," Neves said. "So it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentleman without having to do much harm to him."

"When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent. What he did not know was the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody," wrote the Antioch Police Department in a Facebook post.

The damage caused by the suspect, according to Neves, would likely cost the church a couple of thousand dollars.

"I don't have hatred towards him," Neves said. "Hopefully, he'll have to sit and think about this, and it'll change his heart and mind, and he'll think twice the next time he's tempted to go out and rob from others."