Pretrial Set, New Charge Filed Against Richmond Cemetery Vandals

Three Indicted for Cemetery Vandalism
(Archived article @ Newsbank)
Ronica Shannon ~ The Richmond Register ~ 9/17/2010


RICHMOND — Three people charged with vandalizing Richmond Cemetery in April were indicted Wednesday on an additional charge of first-degree criminal mischief.

Joseph Dewayne Combs, 25, William Damien Gross, 19, and Sara Elizabeth Smart, 20, appeared Thursday in Madison Circuit Court where they pleaded not guilty to the charge, and a pretrial conference for a previous charge of violating graves was continued.

Judge William G. Clouse agreed to proceed with an arraignment Thursday for the three at the request of their attorneys. This will allow the pretrial conference, scheduled for Oct. 14, to include both charges.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Smith recused himself as prosecutor in the case in July because he also serves as chairman of the Richmond Cemetery Board. A special prosecutor from the Fayette County commonwealth’s attorney’s office was appointed to try the case, and said Thursday that plea agreements would not be given to the three.

The group’s first indictment came in July for one count each of violating graves and second-degree criminal trespassing.

Richmond police allege that the three damaged more than 150 grave markers, some dating back to before the Civil War, during an April 3 incident.

Alcohol was suspected as a factor in the incident after police found a whisky bottle in the cemetery the morning after the markers were damaged.

Smith said the damaged markers dated from the 1850s to the early 20th century. Many of the markers were chipped or cracked, while some crumbled after being knocked down.

Violating graves is a Class D felony, while second-degree criminal trespass is a Class B misdemeanor. If convicted, they could serve up to five years in prison.

Combs also faces a second-degree persistent felony offender charge that would escalate the violating graves charge to a Class C felony, meaning that he could serve up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Upkeep Problems at Madison County's Historic Richmond Cemetery

Some not happy with cemetery conditions
Bill Robinson ~ The Richmond Register ~ 9/1/2010

Alice Jane Jones Thompson inspects stone matted with grass (Photo: Nancy Taggart

RICHMOND — Richmond Cemetery trustee chair Donald Roberts and his predecessor Tom Smith both acknowledged in a Richmond Register interview published that not everyone was happy with cemetery upkeep, but that much progress had been achieved in the nearly 11 years both had been on the board.

Roberts said he believed 90 percent of families with loved ones buried in the historic cemetery are happy with its upkeep. When he joined the board, Roberts said practically no one was happy with the care.

Some critics of the cemetery’s care, including two who attended the Aug. 27 board meeting, were not accepting of Roberts’ and Smith’s assessment of the situation.

Among the complaints of both Gayle Hackworth and Alice Jane Jones Thompson, who attended the board meeting, is that wet grass is thrown on headstones and family markers by mowers and is not removed. The sun then often bakes the grass onto the stones, causing discoloration and pitting, they said.

At best, the grass cakes on the markers leaving an unsightly appearance.

At the cemetery in eastern Kentucky where her husband is buried, Thompson said groundskeepers use power blowers to remove grass blown there by mowers.

She invited the Richmond Register to accompany her and others on a tour of the cemetery’s back section on Tuesday.

The cemetery’s front section, which can be viewed from E. Main Street, receives better care, Thompson said.

Owners of cemetery plots should not have to do their own trimming around markers or clean them after the grass is mowed, she said.

As Thompson spoke, she pointed to a woman nearby who used a whiskbroom to remove grass from her husband’s grave marker. The woman, who asked not to be named, said she had no problem with the cemetery board.

Near where the woman cleaned her relatives’ grave stones, dried grass was so matted on some markers, both large and small, the names were concealed.

The trustees should be “ashamed” for visitors to the cemetery to see such conditions, Thompson said.

Metal sign marking mass Confederate grave of Battle of Richmond soldiers lies on the ground (Photo: Nancy Taggart)

Another example of what she considers substandard care was a metal sign on the Battle of Richmond driving tour that marks the site where Confederate solders are buried in a mass grave. On Tuesday, it was wired to a metal pole, but rested on the ground.

Thompson said she was embarrassed for the sign to be down over the weekend during the Battle of Richmond when she saw re-enactors visiting the site.

Tamara Bullen, the mother of an Iraq combat veteran who died accidentally while stateside, said she chose Richmond Cemetery as her son’s finally resting place because she wanted his grave to have the best of care.

Since then, however, she has become disenchanted with the cemetery’s care, voicing similar complaints as Hackwork and Thompson.

During one of her frequent cemetery visits, Bullen said she found workers sitting on burial markers and leaning their equipment on them.

One worker “was so rude,” he “ran her over” with his mower.

Thompson said she had no problem with the cemetery workers and the job they do. Rather, more personnel are needed. When cemetery trustees said the board’s funds are limited, she suggested they organize a volunteer group or contact the court system to use defendants sentence to community service.

“Those ideas just seem to fly right past them,” she said.

Roberts on Tuesday said the board and the workers are doing the best that can be done with available resources,

This past spring, a group of young volunteers has assisted cemetery workers with fence painting, he said.

Smith on Friday said the idea of using defendants sentenced to community service or jail inmates on work release had prompted other cemetery plot owners to voice concern. Also, such workers would require special supervision, he said, and the board does not have funds to hire anyone.

Thompson vowed to keep pushing the cemetery board to improve.

“I promised them that I won’t go away,” she said.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.

April 1999 - 19th Century Covington Cemetery Relocated for Roadwork

Roadwork relocates 17 graves
Peggy Kreimer - The Kentucky Post (Northern KY~Metro Cincy) ~ 4/21/1999

The occupants of a little 19th century cemetery at Ky. 17 and Hands Pike in Covington got a new address this week - the 15 graves were moved to Independence Cemetery, about four miles south on Ky. 17.

The property near Hands Pike is being developed, and part of the land was sold to the state to make room for widening Ky. 17.

"With the new road plan, the graves were going to wind up being right next to the highway," said Herbert Moore Jr., who is developing the land with his brother, Charlie Moore.

The Moores contacted the relatives of people buried in the cemetery and arranged to move the entire cemetery to Independence Cemetery, retaining its configuration and the graves' relationships to each other.

The process was two years in the making, including state permits and required pubic notices that had to run repeatedly in local newspapers, said Herbert Moore. They hired a New York-based company that specializes in moving cemeteries to exhume the bodies and move them to the new cemetery.

"They were very professional and thorough and very sensitive to the family members who were there," said Tom Honebrink, general manager of Highland Cemetery and Independence Cemetery.

"We wanted to maintain the absolute dignity of these people," said Moore. The Moores paid for the new cemetery plots, concrete vaults and burial services. All the headstones are being cleaned and will be replaced over the graves in a few weeks. Some new headstones will be carved for graves that were not marked in the old cemetery.

"They did this very respectfully," said Honebrink. "They didn't cut any corners on expense."

The cemetery held graves of people who died from 1830 through 1900, and included several infants. Moore said descendants of those reburied were at the gravesites on Monday.

Richmond Cemetery Vandalism Trio Indicted

Three Indicted for Cemetery Vandalism
(Archived article @ Newsbank)
Brian Smith ~ The Richmond Register ~ 7/23/2010


RICHMOND — Three people accused of causing more than $40,000 in damage to grave markers at the Richmond Cemetery were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday.

Joseph Dewayne Combs, 25, of Altamont Street, William Damien Gross, 19, of Keri Ann Drive, and Sara Elizabeth Smart, 20, of Waco, were indicted on one count each of violating graves and second-degree criminal trespass.

Richmond police allege that the three damaged more than 150 grave markers, some dating back to before the Civil War, during an April 3 incident.

Alcohol was suspected as a factor in the incident after police found a whiskey bottle in the cemetery the morning after the markers were damaged.

During a June preliminary hearing for Smart in Madison District Court, Richmond detective Matt Boyle testified that all three suspects had admitted they were drinking at the Cherry Pit and then went to the cemetery to continue drinking.

Boyle said Gross and Combs claimed all three had participated in the destruction of the markers, while Smart denied participating in knocking over the headstones.

Assistant Common-wealth’s Attorney Thomas Smith also is the Richmond Cemetery Board chairman, so a special prosecutor from the Fayette County commonwealth’s attorney’s office has been appointed to try the case.

Smith said the damaged markers dated from the 1850s to the early 20th century. Many of the markers were chipped or cracked, while some crumbled after being knocked down.

Violating graves is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison if convicted, while second-degree criminal trespass is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

Combs also faces a second-degree persistent felony offender charge that would escalate the violating graves charge to a Class C felony punishable by five to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The case has been assigned to Judge William G. Clouse, according to court records, but an arraignment date has not been set.

An indictment is a formal statement of charges and does not imply guilt.

Brian Smith may be reached at bsmith@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694. For breaking news, follow Brian at www.twitter.com/RR_BSmith.

September 1989 - Coffin Taken from 88 year-old Warren County Grave

Mysterious: 88 Year-Old Coffin Taken from Plot
Lexington Herald-Leader ~ 9/12/1989

BOWLING GREEN -- The disappearance of a coffin containing the remains of a woman buried in a small family plot 88 years ago has stumped investigators, a sheriff's detective said yesterday.

Charles Forshee, a Warren County sheriff's detective, said the owner of some cattle that had gotten loose through a hole in the cemetery fence noticed the excavated grave Sunday afternoon.

"It was clean dug -- perfect," Forshee said. "Clean down the sides. They
went all the way to the bottom."

The hole in the fence apparently was made by whoever took the coffin, the detective said.

The grave was that of Easter Ann Stewart, who was born Aug. 18, 1825, and died Aug. 15, 1901, at age 75, Forshee said.

He said a rectangular hole 6 feet deep was neatly cut to remove the coffin, but the headstone and footstone were left intact. Four other well-marked, neatly kept graves in the plot were undisturbed, he said. The other graves belonged to members of the Stewart family who died about the same time as Easter Ann Stewart, he said.

The detective said the remains could have been missing for as long as a week to 10 days. Investigators for the sheriff's department were trying to determine who owned the secluded cemetery property.

"We think it's owned by out-of-state investors...There's some controversy over who owns what," Forshee said.

"It's very interesting, and it is a pretty serious crime, but we don't know" he said. "At this time, we are stumped and we just don't know what is going on. It's sad, isn't it?"

A state permit is required before a body may be disinterred and moved to another cemetery. The state Office of Vital Statistics has no record of an application to move the body, said a spokesman for the office in Frankfort.

Warren County Coroner Kevin Kirby and Barren River District Health Department Director Chuck Bunch said they knew of no request to move the contents of the grave to another cemetery.

April 1987 - Kentucky Archaeology Survey is Born

Registry will assist landowners wanting to protect historic sites
Art Landers ~ Lexington Herald-Leader ~ 4/9/1987

Kentucky now has a program to assist landowners who want to preserve archaeological sites on their property.

The Kentucky Archaeological Registry (this later became the Kentucky Archaeological Survey) seeks to help save Kentucky's cultural heritage - most notably the tools, ceramics and remains of prehistoric inhabitants.

"This first year we hope that between 12 and 20 sites will be placed on the registry. The first agreement was signed in March. The fourth one was finalized just today (Monday)," said Thomas Sanders, manager of site protection for the Kentucky Heritage Council (KHC).

Under the program, landowners pledge to preserve and protect the archaeological sites on their property, notifying the KHC of any threats such as vandalism, sale of the property, proposed construction or other ground-disturbing activities. In return, the KHC assists the landowner with site management, conservation information and tax advantages. Landowners enrolled in the program receive a plaque and/or certificate.

David L. Morgan, director of the KHC and State Historic Preservation Officer, said the Kentucky Archaeological Registry is modeled after the Natural Areas Program (administered by the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission), which seeks to identify and preserve lands unaltered by man, such as wetlands, prairies and rare and endangered forest types.

Sanders said that while very few states have laws protecting archaeological sites on privately owned land, federal and state laws (Antiquities Act) (ref. Federal Antiquities Act of 1906, state KRS 164.705-735, 164.990) provide protection for sites in federal, state, local and municipal areas from unauthorized excavation.

"The state's trespassing law and the law which makes it illegal to possess human skeletal remains without a coroner's permit are the only two regulations we have here in Kentucky to stop the indiscriminate digging of sites on private land," Sanders said. "A permit is required to exhume any human body."

Sanders said there are some 11,000 known archaeological sites in Kentucky . "Many times that number aren't documented. A site could range from a small hunting camp or burial mound to a large village. The locations of the known sites are recorded on computer at the state office of Archaeology (in Lexington)" (UK Anthropology Department's Office of State Archaeology), Sanders said.

Sanders said the data base comes in handy during the environmental review process when construction projects threaten archaeological sites. "Just last year Columbia Gas approached us about a pipeline they were building to the Toyota plant. They determined that it would cross a known archaeological site," Sanders said. "That particular situation is a good example of corporate responsibility."

Sanders said Columbia Gas put up the money to have the site excavated professionally by members of the KHC and UK Department of Anthropology, who spent several weeks digging at the site in Bourbon county last fall. "About 12 burials were unearthed," Sanders said.

Morgan said after a site has been excavated by archaeologists and the artifacts have been examined, the archaeologists report on their findings. The artifacts from such digs are often displayed at museums. One such exhibit is at UK's Museum of Anthropology in Lafferty Hall.

Morgan pointed out that Indians not only roamed Kentucky seasonally to hunt wild game and gather edible and medicinal plants, but eventually they built permanent settlements.

Gov. Martha Layne Collins recently honored Murray State University for preserving the Wickliffe Mounds in Ballard County, Kentucky's first National Archaeological Landmark (part of the National Historic Landmarks program). The site, which was known as Ancient Buried City while it was a privately owned tourism attraction, has been reopened to tours, Morgan said.

Sanders said it's a shame that Kentucky doesn't have any state-operated archaeology parks. "It's kind of embarrassing," Sanders said. "There are archaeology parks in Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. It's one of our goals to try to become more involved in interpretive situations with the public."

Bond Increased for Richmond Cemetery Vandalism Suspect

Increase in bond for cemetery vandalism suspect
(Archived article @ Newsbank)
Brian Smith ~ The Richmond Register ~ 7/1/2010


RICHMOND — The bond for a woman accused in vandalism at Richmond Cemetery was increased Wednesday after she was accused of violating the terms of her release.

Sara Smart, 20, was charged June 21 with violating the terms of her bond and appeared in Madison District Court on Wednesday to answer the charge.

Charges of violating graves and second-degree criminal mischief against Smart and two other individuals are pending before a grand jury.

The three are accused of knocking over more than 150 grave markers in the cemetery during an April incident.

Smart had been free on a partially secured $10,000 bond since May 19.

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the misdemeanor charge of violating the conditions of Smart’s release, and Judge Brandy O. Brown raised Smart’s bond to $10,000 cash.