Man Charged with Violating Graves Captured Trying to Clean Up Damages

A man is facing several charges after deputies say he admitted to vandalizing a Kentucky cemetery.

According to the Whitley County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched Tuesday to the Hamblin-Gibbs Cemetery off Upper Mulberry Road after receiving a vandalism complaint. Several headstones, markers, and ornaments had been defaced or damaged.

During the investigation, deputies found a Cumberland Mint gaming card with a woman’s name on it on one of the damaged headstones. A pair of size 10 men’s boots was also discovered resting on a grave marker.

The woman told deputies the suspect, 48-year-old Loyle Garfield Griffith of Williamsburg, had taken items from her wallet the previous week. She confirmed she had obtained a replacement bank card on May 30 and recognized the boots as ones Griffith had worn. Griffith’s mother also confirmed he owns similar boots and had been barefoot the morning she last saw him.

That evening, deputies found Griffith at the cemetery, where they say he was attempting to clean some of the headstones. Investigators say he was also in possession of suspected meth at the time.

Griffith was arrested at the scene. Deputies say he admitted to vandalizing the cemetery and expressed remorse for his actions.

He was taken to the Whitley County Detention Center on charges of violating graves and possession of meth.