Attorney General's News Release

May 19, 2011

Attorney General Koster announces sentencing in cemetery theft case

Jefferson City, Mo. -– Attorney General Chris Koster said today Crawford County Judge Kelly Parker has sentenced Shane Pierce to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $25,000 worth of bronze cemetery vases and to two counts of forgery.

Koster said Pierce and two other men stole bronze vases from several cemeteries in Phelps and Crawford Counties in 2007. They sold the vases to local scrap metal dealers and used the proceeds to buy methamphetamine. Pierce forged and cashed two checks from the scrap dealers, using the name of a third party who was not involved in the thefts. Koster said law enforcement officers from the Rolla Police Department and Crawford County Sheriff’s Department were able to recover nearly 400 vases.

Pierce was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the thefts and 7 years for each of the two forgery charges, to run concurrently.