Investigators say the suspects intended to sell the sentimental items as scrap metal.
Before that could happen, officials say some of the loved ones affected took matters into their own hands and helped police find three of the suspected culprits.
“It is very frustrating having to do this over and over again,” said Tony Velazquez, who recently found out his uncle’s grave at the Restwood Memorial Park in Clute had been robbed… Velazquez says this time, the thieves were nice enough to take the flowers out of the vase and put them in the empty hole.
What the thieves didn’t know is that an Apple AirTag was attached to that vase and would help investigators track it and dozens more some 45 minutes away.
“They gave us the login information and allowed us to then track it. We tracked it to a residence right outside of the town of Brazoria,” said Clute Police Chief James Fitch. Fitch says they were able to arrest the suspects believed to be responsible for stealing 102 vases over the past two months. “These things run about 600 bucks a piece, so we’re talking $62,000 worth.”
Dillon Bryan Pollock, Cody Eben, and Daniel Lewis Hale are charged with third-degree felony theft… Police say a fourth suspect is still on the loose.