27 Veterans’ Grave Markers Stolen, Suspect Arrested Exchanging Bronze for Cash

There is outrage in the Hopkinsville, Ky., community after the grave markers of more than two dozen veterans were desecrated and stolen for their expensive bronze design.

Hopkinsville Police confirmed the arrest of suspect Robert Lafon, described as a convicted felon who targeted the Cave Springs and Riverside cemeteries in Hopkinsville where the thefts occurred. The crime reportedly occurred between Aug. 12 and 18, involving 27 grave markers excavated out of the ground.

Investigators were able to locate pieces of the placards at a local salvage yard, which helped them identify a suspect. Authorities allege that Lafon was able to exchange chunks of the bronze markers for cash. He was taken into custody Aug. 27 on an active arrest warrant obtained by detectives.

“I know police had been working on the case, and they finally got the person that did it,” John Brame, commander of the Hopkinsville VFW Post 1913, told Military.com. “It’s just a terrible crime the man did. I don’t understand anybody that would desecrate a grave and especially a veteran’s grave, a person who served our country. I just don’t understand that.”

Suspect Exchanged Bronze For Cash

Brame said it was the bronze material that the grave markers were made from that became a target for the suspect.

“Bronze is a metal, an expensive metal. I think the grave markers were estimated at $1,200 apiece,” Brame said. “But what could he get? Maybe $30 or $40 for them? What he got was caught, and that was a great thing.”

He described the markers as large and valuable, but also sacred to the families and loved ones of the veterans the markets represent.

“They’re bronze markers. They’re probably 2-by-4 feet,” he said. “They’re the same thing as a stone marker, except they lay flat on the ground.

“As I understand it, the suspect had taken them up, ripped them out of the ground, broken them up and tried to sell them in chunks.”

Credit: Hopkinsville VFW Commander John Brame, pictured with an American flag in one of the cemeteries where veterans’ grave markers were desecrated and stolen Aug. 12-18. Investigators said a suspect has been arrested. (VFW Post 1913).

Lafon is charged with criminal mischief, receiving stolen property of $10,000 or more, and violating graves. Authorities said he’s a convicted felon with a home address less than 10 miles from the two cemeteries where the crimes occurred.

“He tried to sell the broken markers in Hopkinsville, and I understand that’s where the police got the lead and arrested the man,” Brame said. “It would be great to have them replaced. It’s a shame the man took them, and he broke them up and tried to sell them.”

Grave desecration of military veterans is deeply offensive to the veteran community and their families.

It is also a crime that is classified as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on state laws and the extent of the damage or the specific actions involved.

Brame said there is an effort underway between the Hopkinsville Police Department, the cemeteries involved, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Washington to replace the stolen grave markers. Heightened security measures are also being put in place.

“The City of Hopkinsville does intend to put cameras in the cemeteries now, and hopefully, if somebody decides to do that again, it will expedite the arrest of these people,” he added. “Police will be able to find who they are and identify them. That’s probably the best thing you can do because most cemeteries are honestly not guarded, and don’t have gates up and are not closed at night.”

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, including contacting relatives of the veterans whose markers were desecrated.

Brame said as far as he knows, the names are not listed in the records of his VFW post.

“They could have been peacetime veterans or they could be wartime veterans. It doesn’t matter,” he said. “They had a bronze marker issued by the Veterans Administration for their service to the United States, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, the Coast Guard, whatever.

“Those were their markers, and that man decided that he wanted to take them, break them up and sell them for what little money he could get.”