Suspects Accused Of Stealing Urns For Recycling Cash
UPDATED 11/01/11 5:56 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police have arrested two men, who they believe stole dozens of urns that once contained flowers at cemeteries.
As WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports, a call to 911 about a theft in progress brought police to a home at 101st Street and Ewing Avenue Monday morning.
South Chicago District police Cmdr. Kevin Ryan says officers found two men loading blue bags filled with urns into a sport-utility vehicle.
The bags contained 89 brass urns altogether, he said.
"They're flower urns used at cemeteries," Ryan said. "They range in value from $100 to $500."
Police say they're working with the sheriff's office to find out which gravesites are missing urns.
Michael Malecki was one of the South Chicago District officers who confronted the two men as they were loading the urns into an SUV.
"Personally, it's terrible," Malecki said. "You got a deceased member, and families cherish their loved ones and they give a little monument for their family member there, and then you have an individual walking into a cemetery gravesite and stealing and removing these items."
Besides the urns, police say a metal plaque was also stolen from a gravesite.
Police say the men intended to sell those urns to a recycling center to cash in.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller Reports
