MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A third person faces charges stemming from break-ins at two mausoleums at a Martinsburg cemetery.
Media outlets report that a Berkeley County grand jury indicted 32-year-old Erick Wayne Arthur of Bunker Hill on Tuesday. Arthur is charged with 23 counts of disinterment of a body and one conspiracy count.
Co-defendants David P. Bowers of Hedgesville and Richard Ruffner of Martinsburg each pleaded guilty in April to the same charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced July 14.
Police have said more than 20 caskets were pried open during two break-ins at Rosedale Cemetery in 2013.
Bowers told a state police trooper he helped Ruffner and a third person open caskets. A coat hanger was used to remove jewelry, which was taken to a “cash-for-gold” business and exchanged for money.
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