Pa. man gets prison time for cemetery thefts

    An eastern Pennsylvania man is headed to prison for the thefts of more than 200 memorial vases from cemeteries, The Times Herald reports.

    Forty-eight-year-old James Tidmore was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two to four years in prison.

    He pleaded guilty to charges of theft, vandalism and related counts stemming from thefts from March to May.

    The decorative vases were stolen from graves at Highland Memorial Cemetery in Pottstown and Mount Zion Cemetery in North Coventry. Cemetery officials estimated the value of the vases at about $140,000.

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    Two other men are awaiting trial for their alleged roles in the thefts.

    Prosecutors said the bronze vases were sold as scrap for a tiny fraction of what they were worth.

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