Thieves Took 400 Brass Urns from a Houston Cemetery and Sold Them as Scrap Metal, Police Say
Sheriff's deputies in Houston say they are looking for seven alleged grave robbers accused of stealing about 400 brass urns from a Harris County cemetery and cashing them in as scrap metal.
Harris County officials said at a news conference Monday that the urns went missing over a weekend in early November.
A Houston ordinance requires scrap metal dealers to collect a name and address from each customer's government-issued ID, allowing detectives to issue charges against seven people who sold the urns.
Each of the seven will face a charge of second-degree felony theft, which can be punished by up to 20 years in prison.
Authorities say the urns are valued at a total of about $120,000, but that the thieves likely received less than $4,000 from the scrapyards.
Source: CBSNEWS
