Local News

Cemetery vandalism suspects appear in court

By Tim Velder, Journal staff | Friday, November 14, 2008

DEADWOOD -- Three Custer men pleaded not guilty Thursday to vandalizing Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood and making off with a historic headstone.

David Clevenger, 18, Jarrett Wettstein, 19, and Aaron Krogstad, 19, were arrested in early October on suspicion of grand theft and intentional damage to property. Deadwood officials accuse them of knocking over and breaking several headstones and taking a "priceless" 19th century Chinese marker.

Related Stories
Most Popular

Obama Wants You to Return to School

Get Your Degree with Government Grants and Scholarships.
www.classesusa.com

Cheap Car Insurance

Drivers Pay $44/mo on Avg for Car Insurance. Are you paying too much?
www.Auto-Insurance-Experts.com

See Today's Mortgage Rates

Calculate Your New Mortgage Payment. See Rates- No Credit Check Req.
www.LowerMyBills.com

Ads by Yahoo!

The men are being tried together, but each man has a different attorney. The defendants each face felony charges, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, upon conviction. They remain free on bond.

The three allegedly went to Mount Moriah hoping to see a ghost. Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, among others, are buried at the city's historic cemetery.

An anonymous caller led Custer County sheriff's officials to the suspects, who took investigators to the headstone in a wooded area west of Custer. The gravestone is now with Deadwood historic preservation officials.

Officials have estimated that it will cost about $1,000 each to repair or replace four damaged headstones.

Judge Randall Macy set a status hearing on the case for Thursday, Dec. 18, in Deadwood.

Rapid Reply

Show Comments

12 comment(s)

Send us your Rapid Reply

The preceeding are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.

The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.

Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.

If you don't see your comment, perhaps...

you called someone an idiot, a racist, a dope, a moron, etc. Please, no name-calling or profanity (or veiled profanity -- #$%^&*).
you rambled, failed to stay on topic or exhibited troll-like behavior intended to hijack the discussion at hand.
YOU SHOUTED YOUR COMMENT IN ALL CAPS. This is hard to read and annoys readers.
you named a business or identified a business in a way good or bad. Contact the business directly with your customer service concerns or your praise – they’ll likely appreciate your feedback.
you believe the newspaper's coverage is unfair. It would be better to write Jerry Steinley at jerry.steinley@rapidcityjournal.com or call him at 394-8427. This is a forum for community discussion, not for media criticism. We'd rather address your concerns directly.
you included an e-mail address or phone number, pretended to be someone you aren't or offered a comment that makes no sense.
you accused someone of a crime or assigned guilt or punishment to someone suspected of a crime.
your comment is in really poor taste.