Police have arrested a suspect accused of causing over $10,000 in damage to a cemetery in North Chicago that involved a gravestone being damaged and crosses being stolen.
The North Chicago Police Department responded around 7:10 p.m. on August 19 to the NorthShore Garden of Memories, 1802 Green Bay Road in North Chicago, for a report of criminal damage to property.
North Chicago Police Department Management Analyst Freddrick Diez said the front door to the cemetery’s office was kicked inward.
The window of the front door was smashed and an electrical panel box was damaged.
The wires in the electrical panel were cut, resulting in a power outage to the office, Diez said.
A burial plot headstone was pushed off the grave base and two four-foot black metal crosses were reported missing from cemetery plots.
Diez said the total damage to NorthShore Garden of Memories was estimated at $10,400.
Investigators identified the offender as Scott Hernandez, 39, of North Chicago.
“From beginning to end, this was an excellent display of great police work,” Diez said.
Arrest warrants were obtained for Hernandez after the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved for unlawful acts upon cemetery grounds, criminal damage to property and theft.
Hernandez was arrested on Wednesday and transported to the Lake County Jail.
Hernandez refused to appear in First Appearance Court on Thursday morning. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday afternoon.