A St. Paul man has been charged in connection with a fire Friday morning that caused more than $100,000 in damage to a W. 7th Street church.

Gregory Louis Knox, 27, was being held Monday on $70,000 bail at the Ramsey County jail on charges of first- and second-degree arson.

Knox turned himself in at police headquarters on Friday afternoon, only hours after firefighters were called to put out the blaze at St. Mark Lutheran Church, just off W. 7th at Goodhue Street.

No one was injured, but fire and smoke damage was extensive enough to prompt church officials to move their Sunday service and Christmas program to the nearby Wulff Godbout Funeral Home.

According to the complaint, Knox was not a member of the church but had been going there since last summer to get help with job applications and visit with the church cook. He lives about a block away with his sister and her family.

However, Knox was told this fall to stay away from the church after the pastor and cook began to suspect him in a series of thefts. The cook's cellphone, which had been stolen, was returned to her with selfies of Knox and text messages that might have been sent by him. Two other thefts from purses had occurred when Knox and the pastor were the only people at the church.

Neighbors told officials that they saw Knox walking in the direction of the church in the hour before the fire, and walking back to his home shortly after it had started.

The complaint says that Knox admitted stopping by the church the evening before the fire, but that the cook wouldn't let him in. After spending most of the night out with friends, he said he went home about 4:30 a.m. and didn't get up until 8 a.m. to take his sister's children to the bus stop.

Knox told police that he didn't know about the fire.

Firefighters were called to the church at 7:22 a.m. Friday and found the pastor's second-floor office engulfed in flames, with heavy smoke rising from the roof. A smaller fire also was found in a trash can on the main floor of the church, not far from a brick apparently used to break out a window.

Knox's DNA will be submitted to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, along with the brick to see whether it might yield any DNA.

First-degree arson involves intentional destruction of a building, by fire or explosives, where it's reasonable to believe another person might be present. Second-degree arson involves damage of more than $1,000.

A fund has been established for the church. Contributions may be sent to the St. Mark Fire Fund, BankCherokee, 607 Smith Av. S., St. Paul, MN 55107.

Kevin Duchschere • 651-925-5035