Vandals on citizen’s most-wanted list

DELTA —  Delta is aghast, but it’s not going to ignore the desecration of several graves at the city’s cemetery last week.

Unknown vandals rampaged through the cemetery early Halloween morning, leaving a swath of overturned and/or broken gravestones.

They proceeded to the veterans wing of the cemetery, where, according to Delta Parks Supervisor Paul Suppes, they exercised “vindictiveness” on two recent graves of young soldiers by smashing a Marine Corps emblem, stomping on solar lanterns and burning small American flags, then scattering the remnants.

But the city is fighting back. Delta Police Det. Shon Wells pledged to catch whomever was responsible, while an anonymous citizen posted a $5,000 reward for information.

“It was just hateful, that vandalism,” Suppes said. “It tightens your jaw.”

The reward was offered a few days ago, but the donor asked to remain anonymous, Delta Police spokeswoman Jamie Head said.

“At this point, there is a concerned citizen who is upset that this incident occurred and this person would like to take action and encourage anyone who has information that would lead to these vandals being caught,” she said.

“I was shocked and disgusted at the disrespect,” Wells said. “I was appalled. To look down the path of destruction that they left was a sad, sad sight.”

In all, 31 grave sites were desecrated. Several dated back to the early 20th century, while others were from the 1800s. The veterans’ graves were just a few years old and the parents of the individuals buried in them are still alive.

Preliminary damages exceeded $8,000 — more than enough to support felony criminal mischief charges. The city of Delta is still tallying the loss and replacements costs as it tracks down survivors to see whether they’d insured the burial plots, or whether their home owners insurance policies might cover the damage.

In some cases, though, there might not be surviving family. The city has already restored the stones that were pushed over and will work to restore the rest.

The damage extends beyond the monetary component, Head said.

“It’s saddening and upsetting that somebody could be so disrespectful to a burial site. These are families mourning the loss of another family member. It just brings everything up again,” she said.

The Delta Police have worked a few leads that came in after the reward was offered. So far, those leads have not led to a suspect. What investigators know is this: A neighbor heard noises from the cemetery between 1:45 and 2:15 a.m. Oct. 31, which gives police a timeframe for the incident. They also know that more than one person had to be involved, because of the weight of the stones that were toppled or destroyed.

Suppes, a former police chief in Delta, said the cemetery was also vandalized about 10 years ago, but the current incident had a different feel to it. In the earlier case, the suspects knocked stones over, but didn’t destroy them, and they were caught.

“There was a little more vindictiveness in this (new case),” he said. “They took things and smashed them. It’s a heartbreaker. Hopefully, somebody opens his mouth, or her mouth, and we can find out who did it.”

Wells said the police would aggressively pursue the case. “We’re going to keep working it. It’s a sad, sad situation and we’re not going to let it go. Whoever did this would be better off to turn themselves in and get this behind them. They’re going to have to pay. It’s easier if they just come in and ‘fess up.”

Wells said he hoped continued publicity would help lead to the arrest of suspects. “We will catch them,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Wells or Det. Jeremy Gay at 874-7676. The DPD said information would be kept anonymous. The department does not have caller ID.