Police in Maryland have arrested two men following an investigation into the theft of more than 100 bronze memorial vases taken directly from gravesites at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.
The cemetery thefts occurred in two separate waves: the first between June 8 and June 21, and the second between July 4 and July 6.
Late in the evening on July 8, detectives assigned to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division spotted a van parked on a neighboring property beside the Mattawoman Beantown Road cemetery. Officers searched the immediate area and discovered nearby trash cans packed with stolen bronze vases.
Evidence recovered at the scene linked two local men to the vehicle and the cemetery thefts. Investigators located the first suspect, 25-year-old Trey Franklin Mason of Waldorf, at a local motel and arrested him on July 8. The second suspect, 34-year-old David Anthony Downing, also of Waldorf, was taken into custody on July 16.
Detectives determined that up to 100 of the vases stolen during the June cemetery sweep had already been shipped to a scrap metal recycling plant in another jurisdiction. Officers moved quickly to retrieve the vases from the facility before they could be processed or melted down. The total value of the recovered cemetery property exceeds $100,000.
Under Maryland criminal law, stealing or attempting to sell bronze grave markers and cemetery property is a severe offense that carries fines and prison time. Maryland statutes also strictly forbid scrap dealers from purchasing or accepting cemetery bronze, including memorial vases, markers, and plaques. Multiple law enforcement agencies are actively investigating the scrap facility involved.
Mason and Downing face charges including theft scheme, destruction of property, and fraud. Both suspects are currently being held without bond at the Charles County Detention Center.
Authorities ask anyone with further information to contact Detective K. Dunn at 301-609-6571. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Charles County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS, online at www.charlescountycrimesolvers.com, or via the P3Intel mobile app. Tipsters through Crime Solvers may be eligible for a cash reward.
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