Fla. Couple Accused of Taking $33K Worth of Cemetery Vases

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. --

St. Johns County deputies said a man and woman were arrested Tuesday morning as they tried to sell dozens of brass vases stolen from graves at a St. Augustine cemetery at a recycling facility in Palatka.

According to the sheriff's office, as deputies were investigating the theft of 150 brass vases from St. Augustine Memorial Gardens on Old Moultrie Road, they learned that two people were attempting to sell similar vases at First Coast Recycling in Palatka.

Deputies with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office detained Michael Ray Reed, 19, and Jessica Ashley Heymen, 21, until St. Johns County deputies arrived. The sheriff's office said the couple admitted to taking the vases over the past two weeks.

Detectives said the vases were valued at $33,000.

Reed and Heymen were charged in Putham County with dealing in stolen property and will face additional charges in St. Johns County.

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