Arrest warrants out in thefts of hundreds of cemetery cases in McHenry County; 2 Waukegan men accused

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office has issued arrest warrants for two Waukegan men who are charged with stealing “hundreds” of vases from gravestones in September in McHenry and Lake counties, officials report.

Fermin Tonche-Gallardo, 30, and Marcos Mendez, 41, are both charged with theft and causing damage to a gravestone.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 3 to the McHenry County Memorial Park in Woodstock for a report of “a large number of stolen vases that were part of gravestones,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release in October.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office estimate approximately 200 “decorative metallic gravestone vases” were stolen from gravestones at the McHenry County Memorial Park Cemetery with an estimated value of $200 to $900 each, according to a news release published Thursday.

One of the park administrators informed police that the vases were stolen the previous night in the south end of the park, located at 11301 Lake Ave.

Tonche-Gallardo was charged in October in Lake County with felony counts of theft and causing damage to a headstone. An arrest warrant was issued for Mendez and still has not been taken into custody in Lake County, according to court records.

Tonche-Gallardo was released with conditions in October. A preliminary hearing in Lake County court is scheduled for Feb. 20, according to court records.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the thefts in August after being notified that brass or bronze vases valued between $500 and $800 had been taken from a cemetery in an unincorporated area of the county near Libertyville.

Detectives soon learned hundreds of similar vases also were stolen from cemeteries throughout Lake and McHenry counties.

“There’s nothing much lower than stealing from those resting in peace,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said. “Instead of honoring their loved ones, people were victimized by theft at a sacred place.”

The McHenry County Criminal Investigations Division collaborated with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division and McHenry County States Attorney’s Office to identify Tonche-Gallardo and Mendez as suspects.