#Family of slain NYC church caretaker relieved alleged killer arrested

The family of a slain Brooklyn church caretaker expressed relief Friday over the arrest of the alleged killer.

“I feel great that they captured him,” Edward James, Jr., 38, the son of the 62-year-old victim, told The Post.

“They took him off the streets. He won’t hurt anybody else.”

James was referring to Moriyah Lewis, 39, who was captured by the NYPD on Thursday night and charged with fatally shooting Edward James, Sr. in the vestibule of Glorious Church of God at 5:10 p.m. Monday.

Police have said, without elaborating, that the elder James, known in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood as “Swain,” and his attacker, knew each other.

James, Jr. and the victim’s sister-in-law, Veronica Loomis, revealed Friday that their murdered relative had once gotten a job for Lewis and tried to steer him in the right direction.

The beloved church caretaker “was the only one who was able to understand [Lewis],” James, Jr. said.

The younger James said his dad “connected” with Lewis and “broke through his mental illness.”

“Swain tried to help him, that’s the hardest part,” added Loomis.

Following the elder James’ death, which came amid a surge in violence across the city, community leaders called on elected officials to help end the violence.

The victim was a recovering alcoholic, taken in by the church that “transformed his life,” local clergyman Bishop Gerald Seabrook had said.

He became a  fixture in the neighborhood, described by several friends as the “mayor” of the community.