DOWAGIAC, Mich. – Riverside Cemetery in Dowagiac was badly vandalized this past Sunday night, and Wednesday afternoon, a teenager was in court and formally charged with the crime.
61 headstones are ruined because police say Butrick wanted to have some fun.
"Basically, was bored didn't have anything else to do and was looking for excitement," Grinnewald said.
"It sickens you that this happened here," he said.
Many of the headstones destroyed are extremely old and that's why police are having a difficult time finding family members to contact about all this destruction.
"The city maintains the cemetery, so they're looking at records on plot numbers and owners to see who purchased them to see if we can tie back some names," Grinnewald said.
And Butrick didn't act alone. Police are looking for his partner in crime.
The city will rebuild and repair what they can, but problems where headstones are cracked in half are too difficult to repair. The city repairing those headstones could cause more damage in the long run.
- Conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of tombs and memorials $1,000-$20,000 with a maximum penalty if convicted of 5 years and/or $20,000
- Malicious destruction of tombs and memorials $1,000-$20,000 with a maximum penalty if convicted of 5 years and/or $10,000
- Conspiracy to commit malicious destruction of personal property $1,000 - $20,000 with a maximum penalty if convicted of 5 years and/or $20,000
- Malicious destruction of personal property $1,000-$20,000 with a maximum penalty if convicted of 5 years and/or $10,000 or 3 times the amount of destruction or injury, whichever is greater
- Conspiracy to commit false report of a felony with a maximum penalty if convicted of 4 years and/or $12,000 and Filing a false report of a felony with a maximum penalty if convicted of 4 years and/or $2,000
