BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Detectives arrested a local couple Wednesday after a month-long investigation into thefts and grave desecrations in Haughton.
David Taylor, 38, and Kimberly Percival, 33, of the 700 block of Diamond Jack Blvd in Bossier City, face charges for the theft of more than 100 vases from graves at the Hill Crest Cemetery.
During the investigation, police say they discovered Taylor sold a large amount of “solid red brass” to a Shreveport recycling center. His live-in girlfriend, Percival, allegedly used a car with Nevada plates to carry the stolen items. Officials say the vehicle was caught on surveillance video at the cemetery on several occasions when the thefts occurred. Detectives identified four vase styles that Hillcrest officials reported missing from 102 gravesites.
Officers executed arrest warrants for Taylor and Percival Wednesday. The couple is charged with seven counts of simple burglary of immovable structures and 102 counts of desecration of graves. Percival’s bond is set at $150,000.
Taylor also faces charges for failure to appear and failure to notify law enforcement of a change of address as a sex offender. His bond is set at $266,000. Both are booked into the Bossier Maximum Security Facility.
Detectives ask anyone with a brass vase stolen from a loved one’s grave to contact the Bossier Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division at (318) 965-3418. They would also like to speak to anyone who has seen the vehicle in any cemetery in the area.
