Woman charged with theft from multiple Fayetteville-area graves
A Sanford woman is accused of stealing at least 100 copper, brass and bronze vases from graves at two Cumberland County cemeteries last summer.
Savannah Grace Bourgeois, 21, was booked into the Cumberland County Jail last week on two counts each of disturbing a casket or grave marker, felony larceny and obtaining property under false pretenses, and one count each of possession of stolen goods and felony conspiracy. She was arrested in Lee County on June 20.
According to the Fayetteville arrest warrant, on July 17, 2023, an employee of Cumberland Memorial Gardens on Raeford Road was told by members of several families that vases were missing from gravesites. The following weekend, more families reported vases missing, the warrant states.
According to the Cumberland County arrest warrant, Rockfish Memorial Park reported that 69 vases were stolen on July 27, 2023.
An affidavit states that when a Fayetteville investigator began looking into the thefts, he contacted the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office to see if they had similar cases. The record states a Sheriff's Office detective reported there were a large number of vases at a Fayetteville recycling business.
Detectives with both agencies spoke with the Tolar Street business manager, who said that on July 27, 2023, Bourgeois and a man allegedly sold more than five dozen vases to the recycling company for $620, court records state. The record states that the manager also showed pictures of Bourgeois at the business and the identification she used.
The vases, made of copper, brass and bronze, are valued at between $300 and $582 each. In total, according to the records, $20,700 in vases were stolen from Rockfish Memorial Park, and police recovered 31 vases belonging to Cumberland Memorial Gardens that cost a total of $13,902.
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Lowe's larceny
Bourgeois is also being held on allegations of theft from a Fayetteville home improvement store that happened around the same time as the grave thefts.
According to the arrest warrant, on July 22, 2023, Bourgeois allegedly stole a window air conditioning unit from Lowe's on Good Middling Drive.
Thirty minutes later, the record states, A/C unit was sold for $70 to Cross Creek Pawn & Jewelry.
The pawn shop reportedly gave detectives video footage showing Bourgeois wearing the same clothes as the individual who stole the A/C unit from Lowe's. The A/C unit, still in its box, was recovered from the pawn shop, court records state.
Bourgeois was being held Wednesday in the Cumberland County Jail with bail set at $40,000, according to jail records.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Woman allegedly stole vases from Fayetteville graves in 2023