Malone pleaded guilty on May 27 to two counts of theft and two counts of breaking and entering, which pertained to the theft of multiple vases from the Chapel Heights Memory Gardens, located at 2622 Marion-Upper Sandusky Rd., Marion. Malone was accused of entering the cemetery on two occasions in March and stealing multiple vases from various cemetery plots.

Malone was sentenced to serve four years and 11 months in prison.

In addition to being sentenced to prison, Malone was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,900 to the Chapel Heights cemetery and $7,719.50 to various individuals.

Malone was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on April 1 following an investigation into the cemetery thefts.

Malone is currently in the Multi-County Correctional Center awaiting transport to the Orient Correctional Center to begin serving his prison term. Malone will be eligible to be considered for early release from prison after he has served at least six months in prison, or he could be required to serve his full sentence in prison, at the Judge’s discretion.

The cemetery vases Malone stole cost $300 per vase to replace. Malone scrapped the bronze vases at various scrap yards for approximately $15 per vase.

“This prison sentence should send a message to persons who think they can make a few dollars stealing and scrapping metal products, that it isn’t worth it,” Slagle stated.