Four men have been arrested and charged after police said they are responsible for stealing bronze vases from multiple grave sites in Radcliff.
Gaven Carayoan, 43, Jesse Barcinas, 33, Tomas Bernardo, 45, all of Radcliff, and Joseph Mendiola Sr., 30, of Elizabethtown were arrested and lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center on Tuesday.
Pursuant to an investigation regarding stolen items from multiple cemeteries within Hardin County, Carayoan, Barcinas, Bernardo and Mendiola were brought in for questioning.
According to an arrest citation, all four men had subsequently admitted to stealing bronze vases September 8 from grave sites and headstones at North Hardin Memorial Gardens in Radcliff.
The men allegedly took the bronze to be scrapped September 15 at Edward’s Recycling in Radcliff.
Barcinas told police that he was the driver who transported the men September 8 to the cemetery, according to his arrest citation.
Barcinas said he sat in the vehicle while Carayoan, Bernardo and Mendiola stole several brass vases from different grave sites.
According to his citation report, Barcinas told police he also drove the other men to Edward’s Recycling and Radiss Recycling in Elizabethtown, on different days.
Bernardo told police that he made four different transactions of brass for one of his accomplices at four different scrap yards throughout Hardin County.
Noted in his arrest report, Bernardo told police that he profited roughly $100 from the transactions.
According to Mendiola’s citation, he was caught on video at Edward’s Recycling between August 26 and September 28, where the stolen brass vases from cemeteries had been scrapped by other accomplices.
Mendiola admitted to police to being at E’town Scrap Metal where more stolen vases were scrapped with his accomplices a week prior to his arrest, according to the documentation.
The total value of the brass vases taken is estimated to be more than $1,000.
All four men were arrested and charged with violating graves and theft by unlawful taking or disposition of property – all others to be worth more than $1,000 but less than $10,000. Barcinas also was charged with possession of marijuana.
All four men are being held in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond at the Hardin County Detention Center.
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two incidents of grave robbing, one at Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens and the other at St. Clare Cemetery in Colesburg.
Anyone with information regarding these thefts can call their respective offices, 270-351-TIPS or the Hardin County Crime Stoppers at 800-597-8123 or go to p3tips.com.
Source: NE
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