Iowa Man Vandalizes Cemetery Then Tries to Sell Items
How often do you read or hear about a crime and just shake your head at the ahem, questionable thought process of those who are accused? This is another one of those cases. The man above has been charged with a stupid Iowa crime. However, this one really ticks me off because it all started at a cemetery. Some people have no shame.
According to the Times Republican, 43-year-old Larry L. Kunc Jr. of Marshalltown is charged with vandalizing Rose Hill Cemetery in Marshalltown. Over the last week he took the items he allegedly stole from the cemetery to Gervich and Sons of Marshalltown, a recycling dealer. Kunc tried to get money for scrap from the items he turned in to Gervich and Sons. Needless to say, it didn't work.
Workers at Gervich and Sons called police after getting leery of all the monument vases from what appeared to be graves that Kunc gave them, along with a bronze headstone marker. That certainly didn't leave any doubt where it had come from.
The Marshalltown Police Department checked with area cemeteries to see if the bronze headstone, with a value of more than $8,200, was from any of them. Sure enough, Rose Hill Cemetery said the marker had been in theirs.
Kunc was booked into the Marshall County Jail on Wednesday, June 16. He's been charged with 3rd degree criminal mischief and 2nd degree theft, possession of stolen property. His bond is $7,000. He still remains behind bars according to the Marshall County Jail website.
Marshalltown cemeteries have been the target of vandalism several times over the last six years. In addition to this most recent case, Riverside Cemetery was vandalized and robbed in 2015. Two bronze cemetery plaques were destroyed in the same cemetery (Riverside) in 2019.