2 accused of desecrating 102 gravesites

BOSSIER PARISH, La. (KSLA) — Bossier sheriff’s detectives want to know whether your loved one’s brass vase has been stolen from their gravesite or whether you’ve seen a particular vehicle in the vicinity of a cemetery.

That’s because they’ve arrested two people who allegedly desecrated graves and stole property at a Bossier Parish cemetery. Detectives say they could identify four different vase styles that officials at Hill Crest Cemetery said were missing from 102 gravesites, the Bossier Sheriff’s Office reports.

David Dean Taylor Jr., 38, of the 700 block of DiamondJacks Boulevard in Bossier City, and his live-in girlfriend, 33-year-old Kimberly Michelle Percival, were arrested Wednesday (Sept. 14) after a monthlong investigation into the theft of vases from the Haughton cemetery.

Detectives used scrap metal records and other means to determine that Taylor allegedly sold a large amount of “solid red brass” to a recycling center in Shreveport. They also discovered that Taylor and Percival used a Ford Focus with a Nevada license plate to haul the stolen goods. That same car was caught on surveillance video on several occasions when thefts were reported at the cemetery, authorities said.

Taylor and Percival each are charged with 102 counts of desecration of graves and seven counts of simple burglary of immovable structures. Taylor also is charged with one count each of failure to appear in court and failure to notify law enforcement of a change of address as a sex offender.

Percival’s bond is set at $150,000. Taylor’s bonds total $266,200. Both remain in Bossier Maximum-Security Facility at Plain Dealing.

Detectives ask anyone whose brass vase has been stolen or who has seen the vehicle in the vicinity of any cemetery to call the Sheriff’s Office at (318) 965-3418.