Grinches try to steal Christmas, get caught
Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 26, 2002
While the holiday season may bring out the Santa in many people, it also brings out the scrooge in others.
A South Point juvenile is under house arrest after allegedly taking a donation bucket from a local convenience market.
Kim Bowman, an employee at the 52 Carryout, said a juvenile came through the drive-thru at her store Monday and took the bucket of money and began running. Bowman said she gave chase and caught the juvenile with two other kids. The juvenile handed the bucket back, but fled when Bowman advised she was calling authorities.
Another customer at the store recognized the youths and provided deputies with their names. The juvenile allegedly said he took the bucket because one of his friends told him to do it or the friend would beat him up. When deputies contacted the other two boys, they denied knowing beforehand that the juvenile was going to take the bucket.
One man is in jail, and his brother was cited to court after authorities allegedly found decorations stolen from a local cemetery in their possession.
A Proctorville woman told deputies she has had numerous decorations stolen from the graves of her two daughters at the Miller Cemetery on State Route 218 in Rome Township. She said recently a neighbor called and advised she also had items stolen, and she had found her property in the yard of a house on State Route 243. The woman said one of the decorations she had put on her children's graves was an angel statue with her husband's badge number printed on the bottom of it.
Deputies went to the home of Bertha, Joseph and Jessie Dement and asked about the angel statue and other items they were using as Christmas decorations in their yard.
Joseph Dement allegedly told deputies he bought the items at local stores, but could not provide proof of the sales.
In a written statement, Deputy Darren Hamlin said he witnessed that the angel statue located at the Dement house did have the same number printed on the bottom as what the victim had reported.
Jessie Dement allegedly told Hamlin he was with his brother at the time Joseph Dement allegedly took some of the items from the Miller Cemetery.
Jessie Dement was cited to court; Joseph Dement was arrested and taken to jail.