Merced pastor cited for holding Easter Sunday service lashes back at Sheriff’s Office

A Merced County pastor is speaking out after he was cited for having an Easter Sunday service at his church in spite of coronavirus-related, shelter-in-place rules prohibiting large gatherings.

Fernando Aguas, a pastor at Iglesia De Jesus Cristo at 1244 Weaver Ave., accused the Sheriff’s Office of lying to him.

Merced County Sheriff’s Office STAR Team deputies responded to the church about 3 p.m., Sunday after receiving complaints from neighbors that the church was holding a gathering, Deputy Daryl Allen said.

The deputies found the church doors locked with about 50-60 people inside during an Easter gathering, Allen said. Vehicles belonging to churchgoers were parked behind the church and not visible from the roadway.

Deputies spoke with Aguas and sent everyone home. Aguas told ABC30, which was first to report the news, that he thought the gathering rules were only a recommendation and that churches report to a higher power.

Allen said this is not the first time neighbors have complained about people congregating at the church since the order was issued.

Aguas told the Sun-Star that he was not notified that his congregation couldn’t assemble prior to Sunday’s visit by deputies. According to Aguas, people inside the church were spaced at least six feet apart and he said his pulpit is 12 feet away from anyone else.

Besides, he said, “The First Amendment says that we have the right to assemble as long as it’s peaceful.”

But Allen said Aguas told deputies he willfully disobeyed the shelter-in-place order and wasn’t afraid to be punished.

The pastor spoke with authorities at the Sheriff’s Office on Monday and was issued a citation for violation of Government Code 8665-State of Emergency Violation. The misdemeanor offense consists of a fine and possible jail time but the courts will determine the penalty.

Aguas said that he is “very upset” and that everyone is looking at him as if he did something wrong.

Aguas called it lying when deputies said they just wanted to speak with him on Sunday, but ended up giving him the citation when he met with authorities on Monday.

According to Allen, the Sheriff’s Office told Aguas he would receive the citation and he knew the reason for meeting with authorities on Monday.

“At this point he’s been advised that he can’t hold any gathering at the church until this pandemic is over and the governor has notified us that we can go back to doing our normal daily things,” Allen said.

Switch to online services?

Allen said local church leaders have volunteered to help Aguas and his church upgrade its technology, making it possible to hold church services over the internet.

If Aguas agrees to technology upgrades, the Sheriff’s Office will not pursue the violations against Aguas, according to Allen.

But Aguas said the Sheriff’s Office has not helped. “They don’t care, they just gave me the citation and left me on my own.”

Other calls

The Sheriff’s Office has received numerous calls about parties and people gathering in parks during the stay-at-home order, Allen said. Deputies have spoken with those people and instructed them to go home.

Allen said the citation given to Aguas is the first issued by the Sheriff’s Office for violation of the shelter-in-place order.

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 5:09 PM.