WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsUpdate: Clean-up Begins After Cemetery Vandalized in Riceville

Update: Clean-up Begins After Cemetery Vandalized in Riceville

Lauren Brown
Eyewitness News Reporter

UPDATED FEB. 9 4:42 PM

McMinn County work crews began work today cleaning up the mess left over by vandals. Henry and the teenager both face up to 16 charges in the incident.

RICEVILLE, Tenn. (WRCB) -- Thirty-nine headstones were damaged in this community cemetery in Riceville but it turns out the vandalism was also linked to some burglaries down the street and thanks to the help of one resident two people are now behind bars.

"I'm a firm believer in karma. I think it was their time. They'd run havoc in the community and you know enough was enough. And I think you do bad onto others it comes back," said Jeff King.

Jeff King is talking about the two people who burglarized his home Friday.

King says he was just in the right place at the right time.  While being interviewed by detectives, he spotted the burglars identified as William Henry and a teenage boy wearing his shoes and clothing.

"Criminals aren't the smartest people and within two houses down had my clothes on so it is what it is they're gonna get what they deserve hopefully," said King.

"Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have know Mr. King's shoes, he would have. It worked well today," said Detective Jerry Wilson, McMinn County Sheriff's Department.

It turns out they didn't just take his belongings.  Detective Jerry Wilson says the culprits also vandalized this community cemetery.  King says he had a feeling his burglary was tied to the cemetery vandalism.

"Vandals are vandals if you'll vandalize a cemetery you'll break in a house. It just so happened to be in the same area so close you know a rocks throw away that I felt it was tied together," said King.

You can see the broken headstones everywhere and others were knocked to the ground.

"I can't say it. Just no words," said Ted Key, whose family graves were vandalized.

"Just for somebody to come up and vandalize for no purpose there was nothing here to take it was just total destruction," said Gail Womac, Community Cemetery Trustee.

Now Womac wants justice.

"To make them look at the names and write down all the names and the dates of the birth and the death of these people that we can put them back into our record books because some of them have been destroyed to the point we won't be able to find the names on them," said Womac.

Sheriff Steve Frisbie says he'll have work crews out here tomorrow picking up all the gravestones. He also says both individuals are facing up to 16 charges.