Southington Police Make Arrest in Cemetery Theft Case

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Southington police have made an arrest in a case of theft at a local cemetery.

On Thursday, the Southington Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit arrested James
Gill, 43, of Meriden, at Bristol Superior Court, police said.

Gill was charged with three counts of third-degree larceny, three counts of interference with a cemetery and three counts of unlawful possession or sale of gravestones, police said.

Gill was held on a court-set $50,000 bond, police said.

Gill is currently incarcerated at the Hartford Correctional Facility on a burglary charge, according to judicial system records. He was turned back over to HCC after his arraignment, police said.

During the past year, the St. Thomas Cemetery in Southington reported numerous thefts of religious
statues from headstones, police said.

The statues ranged from 2 to 4 feet in height and were constructed of hand-carved marble, police said.

The estimated value for each statue ranged from $2,300 to $6,000, police said.

During the course of the investigation, 15 statues were recovered and three have been positively identified as originating from St. Thomas Cemetery, police said.

Investigators were able to link the three identified statues as being sold by Gill to third parties, police said.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, and investigators said they are attempting to associate other theft reports from the area to the remaining recovered statues. Police said any further information or inquiries can be directed to Officer John Marenholz at 860-378-1648, or jmarenholz@southingtonpolice.org.

Photo Credit: SPD