TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Boy, 15, Arrested In Lakeland Cemetery Vandalism

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com

Published: June 12, 2008

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in the Friday night desecration of tombstones at a Polk County cemetery.

The teenager was charged Wednesday night with 27 counts of injuring or removing a tomb or monument and disturbing contents of a grave or tomb. He was processed as a juvenile and released, Polk County sheriff's officials announced today.

The teen told detectives he and two friends jumped the fence late Friday or early Saturday at Bethel Baptist Church, on Socrum Loop Road in Lakeland. He said they were chasing a fox they saw running through the property.

Despite warnings from his friends, the teen began to knock over headstones, sheriff's officials stated in a written release. When detectives asked why, he said for entertainment and to amuse his friends. He said he was the only one of the three who damaged the headstones, according to sheriff's officials.

"Unbelievable," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said in the release. "We are sending a clear message to others who think that this type of behavior will go unpunished – vandalism is not entertainment, it's a crime and you will go to jail."

A local resident gave deputies a tip that the teen might have been the vandal.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT