Ventura police investigating theft of valuable statues taken from cemetery

Ventura police are investigating the theft of three bronze statues worth thousands of dollars that were taken from a historic cemetery last week. 

Security camera video shows two people dressed in hoodies as they walk around the Ivy Lawn Memorial Park cemetery, located in the 5400 block of Valentine Road, back on Sept. 5. 

Cemetery staff say that one of the first statues they took was of a little girl. They followed up with two bronze statues of horses. Each of the stolen items is estimated to be worth thousands of dollars, but worth much more in sentimental value to those whose loved ones are buried there, staff members say.

"I remember them coming and picking out this section for him because of that statue was right there," said Frankie Hernandez, a groundsman at the cemetery. "Every time they come to visit, they would take pictures next to the horse, and I just knew it was something that I would say sentimental to them as well."

Hernandez said that the theft also hits close to home for him, and not just because he works there, but because he has over 20 family members and friends buried there as well. 

He says that this isn't the first time that the 100-year-old cemetery has been broken into either. 

"Over a month ago, somehow, someone came in for some reason. They had some kind of pipe, broke a lot of statues, chipped some," he said. "Why? I don't know. We still didn't figure out who it was."

Hernandez believes that the suspects will probably sell the statues online or take them to a recycling center for cash. He hopes that before they do so, they'll reconsider what they've done. 

"I would say bring it back, because karma. I don't think you want whatever comes from stealing from a cemetery or dead people. It's not good for you and your soul," he said. 

This is the latest in a string of troubling incidents targeting Los Angeles County cemeteries in recent months. In late August, Woodlawn Celestial Gardens in Compton was hit for over a dozen headstones, and last year, the string of incidents reached a point where county officials offered a $20,000 reward, hoping that the suspects could be caught and prosecuted.