GERMANTOWN, Maryland (CWNews.com)

    Police in Maryland have arrested a homeless man and charged him with first degree murder in the stabbing death of a priest on June 8.

    Robert Paul Lucas, 25, was ordered held without bond at his arraignment pending the outcome of a July 14 hearing. Lucas was accused of entering the rectory of Mother Seton Parish in Germantown to burglarize the residence. Investigators speculated that Monsignor Thomas Wells stumbled upon the burglar and his badly beaten and stabbed body was found in his second-floor bedroom.

    Lucas was arrested early Saturday behind a Clarksburg tree trimming business in a van where he had reportedly been living. "There were items recovered from Mr. Lucas' van that were taken from the rectory," Deputy Maryland State's Attorney Katherine Winfree said. Because Monsignor Wells' death allegedly occurred during the commission of another felony crime, Lucas could be eligible for the death penalty.

    State Attorney Douglas Gansler said he will consult Church leaders, members of the parish, and the monsignor's family before deciding whether to seek capital punishment. Parishioners and friends recalled Monsignor Wells as a passionate pro-lifer and opponent of the death penalty.

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