Man who vandalized headstones at Lebanon cemeteries gets 12-year sentence
LEBANON, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Wilson County man has been sentenced to serve 12 years in prison after vandalizing nearly 150 headstone markers in two Lebanon cemeteries.
The sentence comes more than a year after 33-year-old Justin Elmer was identified as a suspect in the July 16, 2022, incident, which left several family members dismayed as their loved ones’ gravestones were found pushed over, and some destroyed.
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According to Lebanon police, damage was discovered at the Cedar Grove Cemetery and neighboring Wilson County Memorial Gardens. At the time, the damage was estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Gary Jones was one of the people who found his relative’s grave toppled over after the vandalism at Cedar Grove Cemetery. In an interview with News 2, Jones said, “This was my uncle, my mother’s brother. He served in World War II. He fought to save this country, for the freedom of this country, and people want to do this kind of damage. It’s totally absurd.”
Several graves of Confederate veterans were also knocked over during the incident. Elmer and his alleged accomplice, Jeremy Heaton, were arrested within days of the report. Authorities said both were formally charged and have been held in custody since their arrest.
Elmer recently pleaded guilty to vandalism over $60,000 and desecration of a venerated object, in addition to charges for his role in an unrelated burglary about a month earlier where two golf carts were stolen from the Lebanon Golf and Country Club.
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Police said they discovered evidence linking Elmer to the burglary during their investigation into the vandalism. Heaton is also charged in the Country Club burglary.
Elmer was sentenced to serve 10 years for the cemetery offenses and an additional two years for the burglary case. He will be transferred to the custody of the Department of Corrections to carry out his sentence, officials reported.
Heaton remains in custody awaiting trial on his charges. In a news release, District Attorney General Jason Lawson credited the officers of the Lebanon Police Department, particularly Detective Jeremy Johnson and Sgt. Jerimy Pruitte with solving the crimes.
“It is impressive to see the talents of our law enforcement,” Lawson said. “Good police work by dedicated officers solved this crime quickly.”
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Lawson also commented on the impact of the crime on the community. “I can’t imagine the feeling of learning that the grave of a loved one has been vandalized,” he said. “I hope that knowing that defendant Emler is going to prison for his actions will bring some measure of justice for those families.”
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