Colorado Man Stole Urns Off Graves Of Veterans, Police Say
Nov. 11 2013, Published 2:02 p.m. ET
It's a Veterans' Day tale that might make your skin crawl…
A Grand Junction, Col. man was arrested after police said he was stealing $9,000 worth of urns off the graves of U.S. veterans, then selling them.
David Gillespie, authorities said, is accused of desecration of venerated objects, misdemeanor theft and felony theft between $5,000 and $20,000, in connection with the alleged pilfering.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reported that officials were alerted to the rash of thefts after an employee of a local cemetery, Memorial Gardens, said that about 15 -- each valued at $600 -- were missing from the sacred grounds. (Ashes were not stored in the urns, but rather flowers, police said.)
The 26-year-old Gillespie was busted at a local establishment called Grand Junction Metal Movers after he fenced the stolen urns for $124, using his driver's license to complete the transaction, police say.
Gillespie is currently in the Mesa County Jail on $5,000 bond.
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