NAVARRO COUNTY — The Navarro County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that two Corsicana men have been arrested in connection with the vandalism of Hopewell Cemetery.
Detectives took Adam Keith French and Michael Hansel Derryberry into custody. They were moved to the Navarro County Jail.
Investigators said several people knocked over 82 headstones and grave markers — some of them dating back to 1860.
"Any time you destroy something with history, you have to kind of take it personal and you want to find that subject,” Detective Hank Bailey said. “I take it personal when they destroy a cemetery like this."
For the past week, families near Corsicana have been inspecting the cemetery to see if their family plots were destroyed. Zane McCarter and her husband were moved to tears when they saw the damage.
"It's very devastating to know that we have people in our world who will do something like this to family," McCarter said.
Pete Goodin is organizing an effort to lift the toppled headstones back into place. His family has tended to the flowers and lawn at Hopewell Cemetery for three generations, but this damage is more than he can handle on his own.
"If I can get eight or 10 people here, we can pick up a lot of these smaller stones," Goodin said.
The heavier stones and memorial markers will need a professional monument crew to repair the damage and reset the stones. That will cost thousands of dollars; more than the Hopewell Cemetery Association can afford.
The work will also have to wait until summer for the ground to dry out, so heavy equipment won’t sink on the grave sites now soggy from winter rains.
Detectives said the mud helped in their investigation. The suspects left evidence at the scene, including tire tracks and shoe prints.
There were also dozens of beer cans lying on the ground.
Bailey said the damage could range from $50,000 to $100,000. He expects charges of felony criminal mischief to be filed once an arrest is made.
Goodin would like volunteers to help Saturday afternoon at the cemetery. The more muscle they can get this weekend, the more money they will save when the professionals arrive to repair the larger monuments.
E-mail cnorton@wfaa.com
