ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — William Thomas Douglas, Jr., 49, of Silverhill and Amber Douglas Jerkins, 40, turned themselves in to the Robertsdale Police Department on Tuesday afternoon and were both booked on Theft in the First Degree charges in connection with the theft of 179 bronze flower vases from Baldwin Memorial, Pine Rest in Foley, Hale and Rock cemeteries.

Sgt. Rex Bishop, chief investigator for RPD, said both were expected to be transported to the Baldwin County Correctional Facility in Bay Minette tonight or tomorrow morning.

The brother and sister pair each have prior arrest records, Bishop said, but this is the first time they have stolen from a cemetery. “We got reports on Monday of vases being stolen over the past few days and on Tuesday we issued warrants. They took the vases to Wise Recycling in Foley to sell and that’s how we knew where they were,” Bishop said.

With money being the motive for stealing the vases, Bishop said they were trying to sell the vases (weighing 1,100 pounds altogether) for scrap metal prices and were able to get an undisclosed amount of money. The vases were recovered from the recycling center but the money wasn’t and the owner claimed he had no idea the vases were stolen when he was called by the RPD.

“Recycling centers are a major outlet for this type of thing and they were unlucky but we lucked out because they had to give their driver’s license and that’s how we found them,” Bishop said.

Working in conjunction with Foley Police and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department, Bishop said the investigation is continuing.

Sarah Spivey, owner of Pine Rest and Baldwin Memorial, said there have been many people coming by to see if they could recover their vases and have them placed back on the graves.

“I had 112 vases from Baldwin Memorial taken and 28 from Pine Rest taken and I have been working really hard to try and get them back to where they need to be. We have 36 acres at Pine Rest and I have been going back and forth over the property to see exactly what was taken,” Spivey said.

Many of the victims were outraged by the senseless act but fortunately for Spivey, all of the vases, valued at $300-$320 apiece were recovered and she won’t have to replace any of them.

“Some of them are damaged and will require work to put them back together but we can do it. Might take a while but it will get done. There is no insurance coverage for this type of thing so I’m glad the owners aren’t going to have to pay for a new one,” said Spivey.

Altogether, the vases are worth around $52,000, Spivey said, and in the 20 years she has been in the cemetery business, this is the first time anyone has stolen vases.

“I've never experienced this before. This is wild,” Spivey said.