Andrews – A local man is accused of damaging at least two gravesites in Valleytown Cemetery.
Elliott Louis Braybon, 56, is accused of damaging two gravesites while driving a 1998 Jeep Cherokee inside the cemetery in November. Citizens with family buried in the graveyard noticed the damage and snapped photos of pieces that had fallen off the Jeep, which were later posted on Facebook.
The citizens were smart to leave the pieces at the wreck site because the alleged culprit later retrieved the broken Jeep parts from the cemetery. Two days later, one of the parties noticed a vehicle on Valley Street that appeared as if it had been used during the incident.
“The pieces were duct-taped back on the vehicle,” Police Chief Joe Jones said. “When we served the search warrant, we took the pieces and compared them to the photographs from the scene, and they were identical.”
When police served Braybon with the search warrant, he initially refused to accept responsibility.
“I gave him his copy [of the search warrant] and told him why we were there, and he turned around and set it on fire,” Jones said.
At one point, he claimed someone stole his Jeep and returned it damaged a few hours later. Braybon also tried to negotiate a compromise, as police said he asked whether the charges would “go away” if the gravestones were repaired.
“It was kind of like he wanted to fix it but not get in trouble for it,” Jones said.
Police do not believe someone purposely damaged the gravesites.
“I’m assuming that he would go up there and sit, based on reports [from witnesses],” Jones said when asked whether Braybon has family buried in the cemetery. “Some folks said they see him up there on a regular basis, just hanging out, sitting around.”
Braybon was arrested Jan. 28. He is charged with two counts of felony desecration of human remains and has a secured bond of $10,000.
State statute considers it a felony to knowingly and willingly “disturb, vandalize, destroy, tamper with or deface any tombstone, headstone, monument, grave marker, grave ornamentation or grave artifacts erected or placed within any cemetery.”