What does a fundamentalist wannabe pedophile pastor do when he’s good and caught with no wiggle room? Evidently this one decided to take the coward’s way out.

AZCentral.com reports:

Minerva, 52, shot himself Thursday after a standoff with Chandler police attempting to serve a warrant on suspicion he was luring a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship.

Minerva, who lived in Tempe, was the married father of four children. He had been pastor of the south Phoenix church since 2004, and had a loyal group of followers. Prior to that, he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Bagdad, Ariz. since 2000. Minerva had also at one time been a probation officer, congregants said.

The local Fox channel news site adds this:

Police believe there are victims who have not yet come forward. Anyone with information is asked to call Chandler police.

I can’t find any real records on who Nick Minerva was other than some links to his Wing Chun ministry and a video of what appears to be his son preaching at a camping retreat with none other than the folks from Faithful Word Baptist Church. His church website lists no schools, fellowships, or credentials of any kind. So I’m left to wonder, where did Nick Minerva come from and how did he end up as a pastor? Have their been other victims of his along the way?

I’m sure there’s more to follow on this story as time goes along.