The Board of Supervisors Tuesday offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to whoever vandalized grave sites at a San Gabriel cemetery.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich recommended the reward to track down the culprits who desecrated graves at the San Gabriel Mission Church Cemetery at 428 S. Mission Drive.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 21, a granite grave marker with a statue of Jesus was overturned and the statue was smashed to pieces with a rock, police said. A photo published in the Pasadena Star-News showed that the head and arms of the stone figurine had been knocked off.
The vandals unsuccessfully tried to pull down another Christ figure measuring nearly 15 feet tall by lassoing it with a garden hose, according to the newspaper. In the process, a wooden cross atop the statue was broken off, according to police.
Church officials estimated the damage in excess of $50,000.
“This is a tragic and despicable incident, and whoever is responsible for this should be ashamed of their actions and brought to justice,” San Gabriel police Chief David Lawton said last month.
Anyone with more information was asked to call San Gabriel police Detective Dane Woolwine at (626) 308-2837 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or text TIPLA and the tip to CRIMES (274637).
—City News Service