Police say two juvenile suspects arrested in connection with school break-ins in Delta County are also suspected of vandalizing the Delta Cemetery early Halloween morning.
“We actually now have two arrests in this case,” Delta Police spokeswoman Jamie Head said Tuesday. “Both of these individuals were (allegedly) involved in the vandalism at the city cemetery on Halloween. It was a good day for our department.”
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Head said the teen implicated another boy, 12, in the burglaries and told them they would find the stolen goods at the younger boy’s house.
Police recovered computer equipment, laptops, digital cameras, video game machines and other electronics at the home, Head said. She said both boys cooperated with investigators.
Physical evidence linked the suspects to the cemetery vandalism. “Officers were able to match up a shoe print between the cemetery case and the burglaries,” Head said.
She said detectives were still investigating to determine whether more suspects were involved in the cemetery incident. Police had always suspected at least two individuals were involved, because of the amount of the damage.
Thirty-one gravestones were tipped over or broken up. Whoever was responsible also damaged the veterans’ section of the cemetery by stealing flags from the graves, destroying them, stomping on solar lanterns and smashing a Marine Corps emblem.
Total damages were preliminarily estimated at $8,000.
“We were quite surprised it was (allegedly) kids as young as these are, on the physical aspect of it, their having the strength to do some of the damage they did,” Head said. “Yet, with the psychological aspect of the case, we thought it had to be kids. They don’t have a full understanding of what a cemetery is, what it means to people.”
Head was not certain whether a $5,000 reward an anonymous citizen offered for information would be paid.
Both suspects were taken to the Division of Youth Services in Mesa County. They are suspected of second-degree burglary, criminal mischief and theft in the school cases, and are under suspicion of criminal mischief in the cemetery case. Formal charges have not been filed in either incident.
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