TRUMBULL COUNTY 2 teens are charged in cemetery vandalism

The cemetery was vandalized May 15, and 34 tombstones were damaged.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WEST FARMINGTON -- Two juveniles have been arrested and charged with causing more than $100,000 damage at the Farmington Township Cemetery.
The boys, ages 16 and 17, were each arrested June 22 on one felony charge of delinquency by way of vandalism, sheriff officials said.
The 16-year-old was from Farmington and the 17-year-old was from Middlefield, officials said. The teenagers are expected to appear in Trumbull County Juvenile Court sometime next week, officials said.
The boys gave statements to police but it is not known if either confessed. Officials said they do not know why the teenagers caused the damage to the cemetery but noted the youths were intoxicated at the time.
Detective Rick Tackett, of the Trumbull, Ashtabula and Geauga Law Enforcement Task Force, handled the investigation, said Jeff Orr, director of the task force.
Orr said the investigation is ongoing. He declined to say if more arrests would be made.
Damage
The cemetery was vandalized May 15, with 34 tombstones damaged, according to reports. Some of tombstones were from the 1800s, officials said.
"Several weeks after the vandalism, information was received by the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office that led investigators to possible suspects involved in the vandalism," Orr said. "This information provided investigators with possible witnesses to the actual crime itself."
Orr noted that it took several interviews by the task force to get enough evidence to make arrests on the case.
"There was a lot of time put forth," Orr said.
sinkovich@vindy.com