A 34-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday and was immediately sentenced to 42 days in jail for breaking into a structure housing urns at Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary in Santa Ana.
Hugo Standley Vargas pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of vandalism of religious property. As part of the plea deal, one felony count each of vandalism and destruction of a grave, vault, niche or crypt were dismissed.
Vargas, who has been in jail since April 23, was given credit for time served and was also placed on one year of informal probation.
Vargas broke into a columbarium, a structure that houses urns, about 3 a.m. April 23, said Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
“They found him in a fetal position with what appeared to be remains, ashes from one of the urns in the veterans portion” of the cemetery, Bertagna said.
Vargas, who took down an American flag at the cemetery, told officers he was there to visit an uncle, who had died, Bertagna said. He said Vargas broke a marble or granite face plate, took out some of the ashes in an urn and spread them around and was lying in them.