This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, January 11, 2007 1:22 AM CST

2 Hammond cemeteries vandalized

HAMMOND | Vandals raged through a pair of Woodmar cemeteries Sunday night, overturning monuments and smashing decorations.

A headstone weighing at least 2,000 pounds was knocked over and damaged at St. John Cemetery in the 1500 block of 167th Street, and numerous vigil lights were destroyed.

Across the street at the Kneseth Israel Cemetery, 11 headstones were overturned.

A special state statute classifies "cemetery mischief" as an automatic Class A misdemeanor, which is bumped up to a felony if the damages reach $2,500.

"At $200 to $300 to right each headstone, the damages are well over $2,500," said Morton Efron, trustee for Kneseth Israel.

St. John director Michael Welsh said the headstone overturned and broken there was at least 42 inches tall, and worth thousands of dollars.

"We would think more than one person was involved," Welsh said.

Hammond cemeteries were declared "No Crime Zones" by Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. in May, with prosecutors directed to seek maximum penalties for those convicted of cemetery mischief.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the Hammond Police Detective Bureau at (219) 852-2906.