Men charged with stealing bronze markers, vases from veterans' graves in West Warwick

Dan Kittredge
Posted 7/1/15

Two men have been charged with stealing 29 bronze markers and six bronze vases from the graves of war veterans at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Warwick and attempting to scrap the metal in …

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Men charged with stealing bronze markers, vases from veterans' graves in West Warwick

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Two men have been charged with stealing 29 bronze markers and six bronze vases from the graves of war veterans at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Warwick and attempting to scrap the metal in Johnston.

Robert Haney, 39, of West Warwick, and Michael Gilligan, 32, of Providence, are each charged with felony counts of receiving stolen goods and conspiracy, according to a press release from Johnston Deputy Police Chief Daniel Parrillo.

Both men have “lengthy criminal records,” the release states. Haney was arrested June 27 and is currently being held as a probation violator, in addition to $20,000 surety bail on the recent charges. Gilligan was arrested Wednesday, and is scheduled to be arraigned today in Third District Court. He additionally has a warrant for possession of a controlled substance.

According to Parrillo’s release, the investigation into the matter began when Johnston detectives received a tip from an informant that stolen bronze cemetery markers were going to be sold at a Johnston location. At that point, the release states, detectives led by Detective Thomas Dwyer “checked the three recycling businesses in Johnston and located the stolen property at J & S Scrap.”

A subsequent review of video surveillance and follow-up on several leads in conjunction with the West Warwick Police Department led to the identification of the suspects, Parrillo said.

According to the release, the stolen markers and vases belonged to graves of veterans of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. The markers are valued at $25,503, while the vases are valued at $2,160.

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